Naraku reignites his NXT title feud with a backstage ambush on Tony D’Angelo
Two days after Great American Bash crowned and re-established champions across the board, the June 30 episode of NXT from the Performance Center in Orlando made one thing clear: holding a title on this brand buys you almost no peace. Nearly every champion who walked out of the PLE intact spent Tuesday getting ambushed, challenged, or both.
Tony D'Angelo opened by leaning into the danger, insisting no one else in the locker room was willing to risk what he had to keep the NXT Championship. Naraku answered the boast in the most direct way possible — a backstage fireball-style attack followed by a chair-assisted STO once both men reached the ring. The message: the feud D'Angelo declared finished is not finished.
The pattern repeated in the women's division. New champion Kendal Grey celebrated her Great American Bash win alongside Speed Champion Wren Sinclair, only for Kelani Jordan to crash the moment and demand the recognition she says NXT never gives her. Later, Kali Armstrong took NXT GM Robert Stone's advice — that actions speak louder than words — and used it as license to attack Grey directly.
The night's most talked-about moment came after the main event, where Jordan beat Tatum Paxley cleanly with the split-legged moonsault. Before Paxley could recover, a new arrival planted her with a Torture Rack. Commentator Vic Joseph insisted "we all know who this Superstar was" and billed her as "one of the most talked about women in the industry today" — even though WWE never gave her a name on air.
That unnamed attacker is Nikki Blackheart, a Gangrel-trained talent who built her reputation on the independent scene before WWE signed her earlier this year. She had only worked untelevised dates under the name "Martinez." Fast-tracking her onto television this quickly, ahead of women who have waited far longer, tells you how highly the company rates her.
The booking direction is coheren
