WWE NXT - 5/12/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 Things We Loved

Another Tuesday means another episode of "WWE NXT," this time was the 5/12/2026 edition which you can read about over on the results page.

The show was light on stakes but heavy on introductions. Numerous wrestlers were staking their claim on the developmental program, which has been emptied out by main roster call-ups and releases. Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL, Mason Rook, and many others will be leading the Tuesday night brand into 2027 and beyond.

But enough about the future, let's talk about the past. Specifically, let's talk about what worked and what didn't from Tuesday's episode of "NXT." That's right, it's Loved and Hated time. As always, there was plenty to love and plenty to hate, but I've wasted enough of your time. Let's let the Wrestling Inc. Staff say their piece and then you all can continue the conversation in the comments section.

Last week, I found myself immediately skeptical of Natalya's resurgence on the "WWE NXT" brand, especially considering that her run as "Nattie" was abruptly scrapped on WWE's main roster earlier this year. This week, I'm even more so.

Natalya and Parker crossed paths in a backstage segment tonight, with the former filming footage for "WWE LFG," where she serves as a coach. Evidently upset about Natalya calling her "soft" last week, Parker then intervened, demanding that the WWE veteran talk it over with her. In response, Natalya suggested that if Parker wanted to interrupt her work for "LFG," a show about WWE rookies, then she should join "LFG" herself.

Parker seemingly embraced the offer as she immediately suggested that officials draw her up a contract and make her "rookie of the year." Crew members instead separated the two, prompting Parker to back off momentarily.

My issue with this segment lies in its potential "LFG" involvement. Yes, "LFG" is a program where up-and-coming talents, or rookies, legitimately vie for spots on the "NXT" roster. Jaida Parker, however, is not a rookie in the grand scheme of things. In actuality, she's one of the most tenured talents on the "NXT" roster, having made her in-ring TV debut in October 2023. Therefore, she's a veteran of the brand.

Unless she's serving as a guest coach, involving Parker in a show like "LFG" would be a demotion. And considering that several "NXT" stars just ascended to WWE's main roster, the brand can't afford to lose any more established names like Parker.

Written by Ella Jay

If you asked me going into this edition of "NXT" what I thought my favorite match to come out of it would be, I would not have told you that it was the Six-Man Tag Team Match pitting BirthRight against EK Prosper, Sean Legacy, and EK Prosper. Well, here we are now.

First off, this was a great first outing for Wilder on "NXT". He was fast and explosive in the ring, had a clear and unique high-flying style that melds really well with other high flyers on the "NXT" roster, and was incredibly fun to watch do his thing in the ring. I can see bright things ahead for Wilder in his career, and I was absolutely floored when I learned he only had a little over a year of experience in the ring because he just looked that good in this match.

Although Wilder was the one who kind of did steal the show in this match for me, I still thought that the action overall was fantastic from top to bottom and kept me really engaged throughout the entire thing. The best part for me was the closing moments of the match, with Wilder refusing to tag out to the more experienced Legacy or Prosper as a means of wanting to prove himself, but ultimately costing his team the match by not doing so. It was some top-tier storytelling for me, and something that hasn't really been done in recent WWE, which made it all the better for me. I genuinely enjoyed everything about this match and seeing Wilder do his thing in the ring for the first time, with it being a bit of an unexpected gem for me.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

I have to start out by saying the match pitting the returning Noam Dar against the Vanity Project's Jackson Drake was great, on a night of pretty darn solid wrestling on "NXT." Both men looked fantastic, and Dar, especially, didn't look like he missed a step, and I was really glad to see him back. But, as I was thinking that, I also realized that neither of these guys was really in a position to lose tonight, and that's why it has to go on the "hated" side of things.

It's more obvious with Dar, as it was his first televised match back in a year after an injury had him on the shelf. In the WWE environment right now, it was really great to see him, as it seems like no one is safe from the chopping block anymore, even if they're still recovering from injury. With the rest of Dar's former stable, the Meta Four, gone, outside of Lash Legend on the main roster, fans wouldn't be out of line to wonder if the former Heritage Cup Champion had also been let go. While that thankfully wasn't the case, tonight, he really could have used a victory in his return match.

Which is why it shouldn't have been against Drake. While the pair worked extremely well together in the ring, Drake also can't really lose right now due to his storyline with Myka Lockwood, who quite literally carried him to the ring on her shoulders tonight. Their odd-couple romance story is still so new that Lockwood had to help him get the victory tonight. And help she did, by holding Dar on the apron, allowing Drake to take him out before landing the 450 for the win.

While there wasn't much on the line during tonight's episode of "NXT," it wasn't a bad episode, and there wasn't much I disliked. However, Dar being set up for failure by losing his first match in a year kind of stunk, but hopefully, he's headed into a story with Romeo Moreno where the newcomer helps him get his spark back.

Written by Daisy Ruth

In her reign as NXT Women's Champion, Tatum Paxley made it clear that she wanted to give title opportunities to talents that deserved it. Before many could step up to her, however, a betrayal from her Culling stablemate, Izzi Dame, resulted in the title changing hands.

Much to my pleasant surprise, Paxley's giving spirit has now returned during her run as NXT Women's North American Champion, with Lizzy Rain being the first recipient. Paxley offered "The Maiden of Metal" an NA Title match for next week, meaning that in just her third televised performance, Rain has a shot at championship gold.

A fresh face in the NXT Women's North American Championship scene is also very appreciated right now, given that the overwhelming majority of Paxley's current reign has revolved around Dame and Blake Monroe so far. Don't get me wrong, I particularly enjoyed Paxley's Casket Match with Monroe at "NXT" Revenge. New scenery, especially one with an exhilarating in-ring style and finisher, though, is always a delight.

Assuming Paxley survives Lizzy Rain, Zaria seems to be a logical next-next challenger for the title. After all, her turn on Nikkita Lyons did allow Rain and Paxley to pick up their tag team victory tonight. With Sol Ruca now removed from her "NXT" equation, Zaria can finally and firmly put her foot on the gas when it comes to singles championship opportunities, such as the NXT Women's North American Title, as well.

Needless to say, Paxley's giving spirit has many potential routes to go.

Written by Ella Jay

Lola Vice has quite a few options when it comes to potential challengers for her NXT Women's Championship, and that's what this week's "WWE NXT" really wanted to illustrate.

Nevermind the quite fun match unfolding between Kelani Jordan and Kendal Grey in the main event, there had to be some form of shenanigans to throw asterisks in every direction; Jordan and Grey were doing their thing in the ring, Vice was shown to be watching backstage, and, because she has the supernatural power of knowing when exactly Vice was going to be shown, Izzi Dame attacked Vice from behind.

The match continued for a while before security managed to allow Dame and Vice to brawl all the way to the ringside area, taking out a Wren Sinclair on crutches at ringside, and only then did security manage to do their jobs and escort them away. Of course, that proved to be a distraction to Grey, and Jordan got the win. A win which might have meant she was the number one contender if Vice hadn't, one: been attacked by Dame to get the ball rolling on her win, and two: lifted her title in the face of Grey in a heated exchange before ultimately getting wiped out by Dame again.

Point being, she still has plenty of challengers, the three foremost part of the show tonight, and nothing changed as far as that was concerned. No one is the number one contender. This will likely lead to a multi-person title match of some form after a non-finish here and there, and it's just indicative of no direction for the time being.

On the bright side, the four women involved, including Vice, are all exceptionally talented and worthy of being in the title picture. It's just being handled in a less-than-great way, a way that has been done so many times before, granted, but with that tried trust comes a tried tiredness too. It would just be nice to see everything handled in a less predictable and cookie-cutter pro wrestling manner, because it's not as though there isn't the ability to do that.

Written by Max Everett

We've talked a lot about loving newcomers to "NXT" like Lizzy Rain and Mason Rook, but there are quite a few other faces who are helping the developmental brand with its new, fresher feel who deserve some recognition. Those guys may not be immediately in the top title picture like Rook or Kam Hendrix, who is also after NXT Champion Tony D'Angelo, but they're helping to pad out the roster after call-ups and departures, and just the general need for "NXT" to feature new talent.

Tate Wilder was involved in a really fun six-man tag team match alongside Sean Legacy, who also feels fresh having just recently returned from injury, and EK Prosper against BirthRight. Wilder immediately had an interesting story, as well, with not wanting to tag out to prove his worth to the other guys, with that failing, resulting in a loss. We'll see him in singles action next week against Keanu Carver next week, which seems like it'll be a good match.

While it looked like Naraku was going to also immediately gun for D'Angelo and the NXT Championship, it kind of now looks like he's going to fight his way up and stack some wins. He took on Lince Dorado, who I feel like we haven't seen in quite some time on WWE programming. I personally need to see a little more from the former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, but he's, again, a new, fresh face. Despite what I and others may think of him in the ring, his character is interesting, and it will be even more interesting to see him work to adapt to WWE's style.

There were also some backstage appearances by other new faces, like Dorian Van Dux, who I'm really interested to see in the ring again. Thankfully, he said he'll be ready to go by next week, and I can easily say I'm looking forward to that. Noam Dar was seen backstage with Romeo Moreno, a name I had already forgotten about, and after Dar's loss, it looks like they could be involved in a story, with Moreno helping Dar remember exactly who he is after returning from a year-long absence.

There was Shiloh Hill and Tristan Angels, and anything Hill does is a win for me, as I really love his weird, quirky character. Putting him against the vibe I'm getting from Angels seems like it'll be fun and ridiculous, and I'm here for it.

"NXT" is feeling new and fun on all levels, not just the top title scene. Tonight's episode may not have had many stakes, but it set up a lot of interesting things for the new guys, which is sometimes all we can ask for.

Written by Daisy Ruth