WWE NXT REVIEW: BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS BEFORE ROADBLOCK

The Feb. 25, 2025 edition of NXT took place not in the comfy confines of the NXT Arena in Orlando, but rather the unique Andrew J. Brady Music Centre in Cincinnati, Ohio. It’s always a treat to see wrestling take place in non-traditional arenas, and the vibe of the Brady Music Center added to the excitement of the event. 

 

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Karmen Petrovic, NXT Women’s North American Championship

 

NXT opened with the new Women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer taking on Karmen Petrovic accompanied as always by her man, Ashante Thee Adonis. The title was on the line and it’s clear that Vaquer is being presented as a fighting champion. This is always a great look for a babyface in their first title run. If the crowd wasn’t behind Vaquer before this, they’re surely more endeared to her because of this.

 

To no surprise, Vaquer picked up the victory and retained her title, but what was very surprising was seeing how good Petrovic looked in this match. So much attention is paid to her love interest storyline that her in-ring ability seems to be slept on. Two standout moments for Karmen was a leg scissors move on Vaquer’s arms and neck that looked brutal, and then a spinning enziguri that should absolutely be a finishing move. 

 

After the match, NXT Women’s champion Giulia comes to the ring to challenge Vaquer to a match at Roadblock. Vaquer accepts on the condition that it is title for title. Giulia agrees and we have our first official match for Roadblock.

 

Lexus King vs. Moose

 

While Lexus King is most definitely a heel, he was in his hometown and getting cheered right from the start. King and Moose wisely chose to lean into this and quickly switched their styles so King was fighting more as a babyface and Moose as the heel. This was the right decision and made for a much more entertaining match. Fighting “against the grain” of the audience’s feelings is almost always a recipe for disaster. 

 

Moose hit a gnarly back body drop on the outside to King, and followed that up by scaling the ropes to deliver a cross body block. After that, he hit two big power bombs on King, and while Lexus was able to kick out for the moment, a final spear by Moose was the nail in the coffin.

 

It is clear that WWE’s short term goal is to showcase TNA as a product that is equal to NXT, which is a wise move. Having the X Division champion Moose get a clean win over the Heritage Cup champion in his own home town should not be overlooked. If this was the old days of WWE, the TNA stars would take the loss every time. 

 

After the match, Oba Feme comes out and offers Moose an opportunity at the NXT Championship. Moose accepts, because he’s no fool, and our second match for Roadblock is set. 

 

Following that, Jordynne Grace comes out to cut a promo. The crowd is fully behind her when Roxanne Perez comes out to interrupt. They exchange verbal jabs as Perez hypes her upcoming Elimination Chamber match. Eventually the verbal jabs become literal jabs as Grace hits her with a very stiff right hand and Perez falls backwards out of the ring. 

 

No Quarter Catch Crew vs The Hardy Boyz

 

TNA tag team champions the Hardy Boyz make their return to WWE to a huge ovation. The crowd popped right away and didn't let up for the whole match. As the action got underway, NXT tag champs Fraxiom pulled up a couple of chairs and watched from the entrance ramp. The Hardy’s dominated the early part of the match, but NQCC slowed down the pace and isolated Matt Hardy for several minutes. Hardy was able to eventually make the hot tag to his brother JEff, who hit several of his signature moves, including a beautiful whisper in the wind. An impressive feat for someone his age. Eventually, Jeff lands the Swanton Bomb and the Hardy’s pick up the victory. 

 

Fraxiom then enters the ring to welcome the Hardy’s to NXT. They exchange some “pleasantries” and just when you think the nostalgia can’t hit any harder, out comes Santino Marella. The Current TNA Director of Authority says there will be a match between these two teams at Roadblock, and it will be for the TNA tag team titles. Just like that, we have our third Roadblock match announced on this show. 

 

Arianna Grace vs. Lola Vice

 

Arianna Grace is Santino Marella’s daughter and it’s clear that the goofy apple doesn’t fall far from the goofy tree. She has great comedic timing, just like her father, however she’s also very adept at working as a heel. Ultimately, this was a glorified squash match for Lola Vice, who continues to impress, but it was nice to see Arianna get a little bit of offense in before her inevitable loss. 

 

Backstage, we see the No Quarter Catch Crew has been beaten down by Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, and Osiris Griffin. This fearsome foursome is still unnamed and their motives are still a mystery, aside from just causing chaos. 

 

Wes Lee & Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans and Ricky Saints

 

Ricky Saints made his in-ring debut for NXT in a classically booked tag team match. Saints (formerly known as Ricky Starks) spent the majority of the match on the outside, desperate to get tagged in, while Ethan Page and Wes Lee isolated Je’Von Evans. Eventually, Saints got the hot tag and cleaned house. Evans and Page brawled outside of the ring and eventually into the stands, leaving Saints and Lee alone in the ring. Saints was able to hit Rochambeau on Lee and pick up the victory. 

 

Overall this was a solid episode of NXT and it served its purpose: further introducing the WWE crowd to the top talents in TNA, and setting up a supershow of sorts for the upcoming Roadblock PLE.