WWE NXT Live Coverage - January 27th, 2026
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DarkState defend the NXT Tag Team Title against OTM
The NXT Tag Team Championship will be on the line when Darkstate battle OTM. Osiris Griffin and Saquon Shugars look to continue their dominance, while Bronco Nima and Lucien Price aim to win gold for the first time.
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— The show opens with The Vanity Project (Jackson Drake, Brad Balor & Ricky Smokes) standing above Joe Hendry who is laid out. Ava comes in and wonders who did it. We find out Tony D'Angelo has just arrived. Ricky Saints is on commentary with Booker T & Vic Joseph. Joseph says Drake feels he should get a bye since Hendry is out. Saints leaves commentary as we have our first match.
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NXT Tag Team Championship Match: DarkState (c) (w/Cutler James) vs. OTM
Saquon Shugars and Bronco Nima begin the action. The bell rings and the two lock up. They go back and forth with one another, but Lucien Price tags in and levels Shugars with a headbutt. Osiris Griffin tags in, but Nima tags back in on his side nad levels Griffin with an arm drag. OTM then send Griffin and Shugars crashing into the mat face first, and the latter two men take a second to regroup on the outside.
Shugars looks to land a kick on Nima's midsection back in the ring, but Griffin sneaks up behind Nima and blindsides him from behind. We see Hank Walker and Tank Ledger watching the action from backstage as Price pins Griffin. Griffin kicks out, but Shugars tags back in and wears down Price. Griffin then tags back in, but Price takes out him and Shugars with a bodyslam each.
Nima tags back in and runs over Shugars with a shoulder tackle, then follows it up with The Three Amigos. Price tags back in, but Nima catches Griffin with a Curb Stomp during the commercial break before he tags back in. Shugars tags in on his side and rolls up Nima, but Nima kicks out and Griffin fires off a right hand and an uppercut on him.
Griffin runs over Nima with an uppercut, but Shugars wears down Nima's leg back from the break. Griffin and Nima then level one another with crossbodies, but Price tags back in and takes out both Shugars and Griffin with clotheslines. He delivers alternating clotheslines to Shugars and Griffin in opposite corners, then sends Shugars crashing on top of Griffin with a uranage.
Price pins Shugars, but Griffin breaks the fall as we see Vanity Project bolting to ringside backstage. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger take notice and follow them. Vanity Project then emerge at ringside and hop up on the apron, opening the door for Shugars to roll up Price for the win with his feet on the ropes.
Winners and STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: DarkState
— After the match, Vanity Project, Walker, Ledger, and OTM begin brawling. Chase U joins in, but Shawn Spears and Niko Vance sneak up behind DarkState in the ring and blindside Shugars, Griffin, and James. Spears and Vance couple team on Griffin, standing tall over him and Shugars.
— Nikkita Lyons is talking to the ladies backstage. Blake Monroe comes in and mocks Jaida Parker's theme. Lyons tells Monroe they're one in the same and that Monroe has been through a lot and she feels that Monroe needs... and Monroe says "a friend?". Lyons says she's giving Monroe a gift and she'll take out Parker for Monroe because she's Nikkita the Saint.
— Nikkita Lyons then makes her way to the ring. Jaida Parker follows.
Jaida Parker vs. Nikkita Lyons
The bell rings and the two lock up. Parker rocks Lyons with a shoulder block, then wears her down with a submission hold and transitions into a pinfall. Lyons kicks out and rains down forearms on Parker, then levels her with a right hand and goes for a pin.
Parker kicks out, but Lyons takes her down with a suplex and a powerbomb. Parker and Lyons then rock one another with forearms, then connects with her signature Hip Attack on Lyons in the corner and follows it up with a pump handle sit-out powerbomb for the win.
Winner: Jaida Parker
— After the match, Blake Monroe appears on the Titan Tron and says no one gets away with taking the spotlight from her before telling Parker that she'll see her soon. Parker responds by telling Monroe that she knows where to find her.
— Blake Monroe shows up on the video screen and tells Parker that she'll be seeing her very soon. Parker talks to the camera and tells Monroe she knows where to find her.
— Elio LeFleur, Eli Knight and Tavion Heights are backstage and Heights gives them advice. Lexis King, Stacks and Arianna Grace come by and King tells them to not take advice from Heights because he has floundered all his opportunities. King says he and Grace have a birth right to be here and Heights is just taking stuff from them. Heights is about to start a fight but it gets broken up before it can be started.
— The Elegance Brand cuts a promo about Zaria and Sol Ruca challenging them for The TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships.
— Zaria is backstage talking to Sol Ruca on the phone backstage and is upset Ruca isn't there. Thea Hail comes in and tells Zaria that friends are hard to find here. Zaria tells Hail to stop complaining because Hail stumbles into the championships. Zaria and Hail get in each other's faces and Zaria says she'll see Hail.
— Myles Borne and Ethan Page talk backstage. Page asks Borne if he's finally going to be ruthless. Page tells Borne that if he wants to be in this ladder match he has to win by any means necessary. Borne tells Page to mind his own business. Ricky Saints comes out and says he'll be out for the match. Borne threatens to drop Saints if he sees him out there.
— Dion Lennox then makes his way to the ring.
— Ava is on the phone talking about the women's division. Jackson Drake, Brad Balor and Ricky Smokes come by and ask how Joe Hendry is doing. Ava tells them Hendry is out and she's already annoyed with The Vanity Project. Ava says Drake is in the ladder match, and if Hendry gets cleared he's in the ladder match too.
— Back at ringside, Myles Borne makes his way out.
NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Dion Lennox vs. Myles Borne
The bell rings and the two lock up. They take turns wearing one another down with submission holds, but Borne connects with a dropkick on Lennox and Lennox whips him into the corner. He lands a splash on him, then whips Borne into the opposite corner and lands another splash on him.
Borne lands a pair of uppercuts on Lennox in opposite corners, but Lennox clotheslines Borne out of the ring as Ethan Page emerges at ringside. Borne sends Lennox crashing into the ring steps shoulder first, then goes for a pin but Lennox kicks out.
During the commercial break, Borne delivers a suplex to Lennox. Lennox runs over Borne with a clothesline and rains down right hands on him, then spikes him with a DDT and goes for a pin. Borne kicks out, but Lennox delivers a double underhook suplex to him back from the break. Borne responds with a series of right hands to Lennox and takes him out with right hands, then delivers a dropkick to him and connects with a suplex on him. Lennox pins Borne, but the referee catches his feet on the ropes and stops his count.
Page slides his North American Championship belt to Borne and distracts the referee as he tries to get Borne to use it. The referee catches Borne with the North American Championship, opening the door for Lennox to deliver a bodyslam to Borne for the win.
Winner: Dion Lennox
— After the match Page yells at Borne and says all he had to do is listen to Page. Borne knocks Page out using the belt.
— Tony D'Angelo is escorted by security into Ava's office. Ricky Saints talks to Ava and talks about making sure no one interferes in the Ladder Match. Saints leaves and D'Angelo asks Ava why she bailed him out. Ava says NXT needs D'Angelo and D'Angelo knows NXT better than anyone and she wants to know whether he's in or out. D'Angelo says he needed to get Ava's attention somehow and he's not the same and he'll let everyone know his intentions. Ava warns him about interfering in the ladder match next week.
— Chase U argues backstage. Uriah Connors is upset and Kale Dixon tells Connors to listen to Andre Chase and Chase says he has to focus on his match and leaves. Dixon follows Chase. Lexis King comes in and tells Connors that his father would be proud of him for standing up for himself.
— Back at ringside, Tavion Heights makes his way to the ring. Lexis King follows.
Tavion Heights vs. Lexis King
The bell rings and King looks to land a boot on Heights' midsection. Heights avoids it, but King levels him with a clothesline off the top rope and goes for a pin. Heights rolls through and sends King crashing into the mat, but King manages to gain the upper hand.
Arianna Grace and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo emerge at ringside as King lands a chop on Heights. Heights rocks King with a right hand, but King delivers a double boot to Heights' face. Heights gets King up on his shoulders and sends him crashing into the mat with a Gorilla Press, but King sends Heights crashing out of the ring and gets back inside to beat a ten count from the referee. King then catches Heights with The Coronation when he gets him back in the ring and pins him for the win.
Winner: Lexis King
— After the match, King gets beside Stacks and Grace and says this is just the beginning.
— We see Zaria start heading to the ring for her match against Thea Hail.
Zaria vs. Thea Hail
The bell rings and Zaria shoves Hail. Hail looks to cinch in a Kimura Lock on Zaria, but Zaria avoids it and runs over Hail with a shoulder tackle. Zaria levels Hail with a back elbow and gets Hail up on her shoulders, but Hail escapes and sends Zaria crashing out of the ring with a dropkick.
Hail delivers a dive to level Zaria on the outside, and the two women return to the ring. Zaria sends Hail crashing into the top rope face first and pins her, but Hail kicks out. Zaria jams her knee into the back of Hail's neck during the commercial break, then runs over Hail with a clothesline and cinches in a Texas Cloverleaf on her.
Hail escapes, but Zaria sends Hail crashing into the corner and fires off shoulders on her midsection. Zaria then looks to fly off the ropes, but Hail delivers a codebreaker to her arm and rocks her with a headbutt. Hail lands a back elbow on Zaria, but Zaria lands a back suplex on Hail. Hail cinches in the Kimura Lock on Zaria, but Zaria sends Hail crashing into the mat with a back body drop. She follows it up with a spear.
Tatum Paxley sneaks up behind Dame and lands a crossbody on her off the barricade. She chases Dame to the back as Zaria watches, opening the door for Hail to roll up Zaria for the win.
Winner: Thea Hail
— After the match, Hail extends her hand to Zaria. Fatal Influence's music hits, and Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid make their way out to confront Zaria and Hail. Although Hail looks to team up with Zaria, Zaria blindsides Hail with an F5 out of anger for losing to her.
— Keanu Carver sits backstage and gets pissed he's being filmed.
— Charlie Dempsey tells Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair they're doing well but they're not winning. Grey says she's in her own world and she wants to go for singles gold. Lexis King, Stacks and Arianna Grace come by and tell Dempsey he's one of them.
NXT Championship Ladder Match Qualifier: Andre Chase vs. Keanu Carver
The bell rings and Chase rocks Carver with a boot. Carver runs over Chase, then fires off shoulders on his midsection and dumps him out of the ring. Carver rips off Chase's face mask and sends him crashing into the ring apron, then uses the ring post to cinch in a crossface on Chase and dumps him back in the ring.
Carver delivers a knee to Chase's throat, but Chase fires off kicks on the back of Carver's thigh and sets up for a Russian Leg Sweep on Carver. He lands a Tornado DDT on Carver and lands a crossbody on him off the top rope, then goes for a pin but Carver kicks out.
Carver sends Chase crashing into the ring apron spine first, but Chase sends himself and Carver crashing over the announce desk. Carver quickly recovers and sends Chase crashing into the announce desk spine first. He gets Chase back in the ring and delivers a running powerslam to Chase for the win.
Winner: Keanu Carver
— After the match, Carver sends Chase into the exposed bottom turnbuckle and the ring post. Carver then grabs a microphone and says he's going to take out the field in the NXT Championship Ladder Match next week. He dares anyone who has something to say to meet him in the ring.
— Sean Legacy, Dion Lennox, Shiloh Hill, Jackson Drake and Ricky Saints all watch from backstage. Hill is excited to face Carver. Saints says he's going to get his own ladder. Lennox glares at Legacy and leaves. Drake leaves and we cut to a break.
— Back from the break, Keanu Carver, Sean Legacy, Dion Lennox, Shiloh Hill, and Jackson Drake are all in the ring.
Hill says while what Carver just did to Andre Chase might scare some people, he's not because it reminds him of his roots and the woods. Dion Lennox intervenes and says DarkState has been taking out everyone, and Sean Legacy chimes in to say that while he's the new guy, he's been working hard and has nothing to lose. He says the NXT Championship Ladder Match is the biggest opportunity of his life, but Jackson Drake says Legacy will choke next week and says he's calculated. He says everyone in the ring will be able to say that they were part of history when they watch him become the youngest double champion in WWE history.
Ricky Saints' music hits, and he makes his way out with a ladder in hand. He sets up the ladder and climbs it as he says the view from the top of the ladder is beautiful. He says he sees a lot of potential and future champions in the ring, but they're the seeds who have not sprouted yet while he is the rose. He says he's absolutely built to be a two time NXT Champion, but Carver says everyone is doing to much talking.
Legacy and Drake begin brawling with one another. Legacy delivers a Spanish Fly to Drake and sends him crashing out of the ring as Carver, Lennox, and Hill brawl with one another. Carver dumps Hill and Lennox out of the ring, but Saints levels Carver with a ladder and ascends up the ladder.
Before he can grab the NXT Championship belt from above the ring, Joe Hendry's music hits and he makes his way out. He takes out Saints, but Carver sneaks up behind Hendry and levels him with a running powerslam. Carver stands tall above everyone else and stares at the NXT Championship as the show goes off the air.
