WWE NXT - 6/23/2026: 3 Things We Hated And 3 We Loved

The road to the WWE NXT Great American Bash is at an end. "NXT" aired its final episode before Sunday's PLE on The CW, and the show was, well, it was a show. There was a contender's match, as well as numerous exchanges ahead of the show, and if you want to read the specifics, then head on over to our WWE NXT 6/23/2026 Results Page to read more.

Like we do every Tuesday, it's time to get into what the Wrestling Inc. Staff liked, and what they very much didn't. The opening match, Jackson Drake's goofiness, there was plenty to love on tonight's "WWE NXT," but there were also woeful lows, like the weird promo between Dion Lennox and Saquon Shugars. As always, you can head to the comment section if you want to keep the conversation going.

But for now, let's talk about what we hated, and what we loved.

I don't know if he could've truly turned this lukewarm episode of "WWE NXT" around, but it didn't help the night's events that Booker T's nearly-incoherent passion was not the soundtrack to the show.

Booker is freed from the usual limitations of WWE broadcasters. He ad-libs, he shouts, he's an overall obnoxious horndog, but dammit, he's our obnoxious horndog. "NXT" isn't "NXT" without his gravelly voice yelling "I LIKE IT" or "UH=HUH!"

I think Wade Barrett is better than most when it comes to broadcasting, but Booker T is simply in a league of his own. He has a loud, staccato, jazz-like flow that cannot be replicated. He bristles against Vic Joseph perfectly. You always get the vibe that Joseph is keeping the livewire commentator on the rails. Without that electric chemistry, "NXT" is just a ridiculous show without a heartbeat. There is something about Booker's free-verse nonsense that has a unifying effect on the madness that is a weekly episode of "WWE NXT." Without him, everything just feels less-than.

Written by Ross Berman

Over the last year, WWE fans have routinely complained about premium live event formats, specifically their lack of in-ring action. Many main roster PLEs have adopted a five-match or even four-match card, leaving a multitude of commercials to fill airtime that could have been dedicated to an additional bout instead. "NXT" PLEs, while maintaining a five or six bouts on their main card, typically run only two-and-a-half hours.

Much to my pleasant surprise, the upcoming Night of Champions show boasts a six-match lineup. Meanwhile, the "WWE NXT" Great American Bash now has seven contests advertised following tonight's announcements of an NXT Women's North American Championship clash and a grudge match between Shiloh Hill and Tristan Angels.

The latter's inflation can likely be attributed to the fact that it will be going head-to-head with AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door on the same night. In general, though, I imagine that WWE fans are thrilled to know that they will have more in-action to look forward to this weekend. On "NXT's" end, an increased lineup filled with title and non-title also makes the Great American Bash feel more important. Simultaneously, more "NXT" stars will have an opportunity to shine on a bigger stage, which is always a positive.

Tristan Angels and Naraku will mark their first "NXT" premium live event appearances. Wren Sinclair will check off her first televised WWE Women's Speed Championship defense. Tavion Heights has the chance to claim his first piece of singles gold. All of the above, plus lots more, has the potential to create an event of substance, and for that, I thank "NXT."

Written by Ella Jay

Tonight was the first night I thought the DarkState breakup, or at least the rest of the group ousting Saquon Shugars, actually felt rushed, when I'd been complaining for weeks that creative just needed to get this done and over with to get Shugars out on his own as a singles star. While Shugars and Dion Lennox probably needed to go face-to-face ahead of their match at Great American Bash on Sunday, maybe this should have been left as a brawl segment, because a lot of what Lennox said during this promo didn't make any sense when it comes to their story.

My main problem with all of this was that Lennox was telling us, the fans, things we had yet to hear in this feud. Right before the match on Sunday. He said that Shugars is always second-guessing himself, and that Shugars would disappear or just not be there when DarkState needed him most, and they always wondered if they could depend on him. It was with that, I honestly felt a little crazy, as I remembered none of that.

I wondered what the heck I missed, maybe when DarkState was going after the NXT Tag Team Championships, or maybe it was something when they were feuding with Myles Borne and trying to win the North American Championship. But, nope. I didn't miss anything, apparently, as Lennox justified what he was saying with a line about "people never seeing that side of Shugars" because DarkState only let the people see "what they wanted them to see." He also said that DarkState was never meant to have Shugars in it, and I've never gotten that impression. Lennox bringing it all up now just felt really strange, like creative is trying to pull some more story for these men out of nowhere, when it's way past time for that, and also feels extremely unnecessary.

In addition to the weird attempt at a story beat, Lennox is just nowhere near Shugars on the microphone, and Shugars also had the better points. He talked about Lennox establishing himself as a leader, when DarkState agreed there was no leader, and he brought up Osiris Griffin and Cutler James not being able to do anything themselves. He just had the better lines, including when he said Lennox's insult about him being "just an indie wrestler" wasn't a flex, because Lennox is just a pretender.

The weirder this was, the more I think these men should have just had a wild brawl in the parking lot. Perhaps one that went throughout the entire show. This wasn't a strong showing for Lennox, and the segment's overall content was confusing.

Written by Daisy Ruth

One of my favourite parts of watching "NXT" on a regular basis is consistently being exposed to new talent and seeing the incredible things that they can do inside the ring. This edition of "NXT" was no different, with Aaron Rourke being one of the many newcomers on the brand who impressed me with what he can do.

This EVOLVE Championship match between Rourke and Tristan Angels may not have been the most fast paced or high flying match of all time, but it was still some fantastic wrestling and engaging to watch. I particularly enjoyed how unique the ending of this contest was, with Angels seeing someone under the ring take his Mr. NXT Pageant and being pulled under the ring as he looked to retrieve it. It was fun, playful, and fit the tone perfectly for Rourke and Angels' characters.

My only real complaint about this entire thing is that "NXT" chose to intersperse this match with videos of Naraku and Tony D'Angelo walking around backstage as the latter looked to find the former. It became a little distracting and overwhelming from a great match that deserved the full attention of the audience, and felt incredibly unnecessary. There was plenty of time on this show for them to just do the stuff with Naraku and Tony D'Angelo later on, especially when you consider that they had a (literal) explosive confrontation outside the WWE Performance Center after this match that would've served as enough to hype up The Great American Bash double contract signing.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Keanu Carver took a loss to EK Prosper tonight, and though he's gotten some recent wins on the brand, at least within the last few months, Carver feels just utterly directionless. I think it's because a lot of the other young stars, guys like Kam Hendrix, recently called up from "WWE EVOLVE," and Mason Rook and Naraku, newly debuted on the roster, are getting a lot of opportunities, while Carver, who has been featured on "NXT" before, is floundering when it comes to any type of story. He's someone a lot of fans, including myself, thought would be a major player on "NXT" TV by now, after all the post-WrestleMania call-ups.

He's been working a lot of house shows and getting reps, by the looks of his Cagematch page, at least, but the "WWE Legends & Future Greats" competitor got his last televised victory, and his last TV match before the Prosper bout, last month against Tate Wilder. He defeated Joe Hendry in April, as well as Jasper Troy and Josh Briggs in a triple threat. No disrespect intended, but other than Hendry, who isn't even on the brand anymore, those guys aren't big names in "NXT," and Carver is sadly an example of wins not being enough to get you over.

It felt like creative was attempting to gear up to give him something a few weeks ago, when Emily Agard attempted to interview him, and he cut a pretty good promo about who he is and just what he's looking for in "NXT." Since then, it feels like Carver hasn't done anything, really, on TV, despite some backstage segments where he's attempted to get General Manager Robert Stone's attention to have a conversation, which hasn't worked amidst Stone's chaos.

It feels like a lot of guys are lapping Carver, and it sucks to see. He's an imposing presence with a great look, and if given the right story, he could definitely be something interesting in this new "NXT." Taking a loss to Prosper tonight didn't help that, and if he just goes unhinged following the "L," it's just going to feel like something we see on the brand all too often. He might as well work like any of these other new guys, and just shoot his shot by beating down NXT Champion Tony D'Angelo.

Written by Daisy Ruth

"WWE NXT" excels in being some of the most goofy, high school programming in the world of wrestling, and there is no one who exemplifies that better than Jackson Drake.

While being pretty great in the ring as well, Drake is one of those characters who steals every second he's on the screen with some of the best quips and reactions, inevitably coming as the butt to the joke. This week, he was lurking in and around the NXT Championship picture as Naraku tried to fireball Tony D'Angelo out of it.

And while it was obvious that, however it occurred, D'Angelo would be coming back to defend his title as advertised, Drake and Mason Rook threw their hats in the ring to great TV. It started with a backstage segment with Drake coming to complain to Robert Stone, per the usual.

With a glint in his eye, the NXT Championship caught his attention, and with all the subtlety of a brick to the face put himself forward, rather magnanimously, as a stand-in. As such, after Naraku tried to talk himself into the championship and Rook emerged to put himself forward, he emerged once more to hilariously think he had a chance.

Much like The Deep in "The Boys" or Flash Thompson in "Spider-Man," Drake is a character designed to be obnoxious – very, very entertainingly so – to ultimately satisfy the audience with whatever shortcoming befalls them. And, in that respect, Drake and the rest of Vanity Project got their shortcoming in the form of Rook taking them all out.

When all is said and done, Drake manages to be one of the more interesting guys when he is on TV. That was much the case this week, and that's the kind of entertainment one tunes into wrestling for. Good stuff.

Written by Max Everett