The Big Picture

The road to WrestleMania 41 is officially choking the oxygen out of every other wrestling property, but Tuesday’s NXT refused to go quietly. The March 24 episode was a frantic, video-heavy sprint that prioritized angle advancement over in-ring psychology. Shawn Michaels is clearly feeling the pressure to finalize the card before April arrives. The result was a messy but entertaining two hours of television.

Some segments hit with the precision of a sniper rifle. Others felt like three distinct booking ideas taped together at the last minute. This is the duality of developmental television. You get flashes of brilliance immediately followed by baffling creative choices. Here are the top ten moments from the show, ranked from the slightly flawed to the genuinely great.

The Rankings

10. Lexis King’s Pre-Tape Promo

Lexis King sitting in a dimly lit tattoo parlor cutting a promo about disrespect is standard television. The delivery was solid, but the written material was paper-thin. He threatened to ruin the WrestleMania 41 weekend for his opponents, but the intensity simply was not there.

It ranks at the bottom because it felt like a mandatory placeholder segment to keep him on the screen. The production values were undeniably high, utilizing a gritty filter, but you cannot hide a lack of real stakes behind fancy camera work. He needs a meaningful feud with actual heat, not another generic broadcast warning the locker room.

9. The Chase U Pep Rally

Andre Chase bringing his entire faction to the ring for a pre-event pep rally was exactly what you would expect. It ranks slightly higher than the pre-tapes because the live crowd actively ate up the spelling routine, but the segment dragged on far too long. At five minutes, it was a perfectly fun diversion.

At eight minutes, it was a chore to watch. Ridge Holland interrupting the proceedings added a necessary dose of reality, but the subsequent physical beatdown was remarkably slow and sloppy. Chase U remains a fun act, but they are increasingly feeling like a relic of a past developmental era.

8. The Women's Tag Team Scramble

A four-way tag match to determine the contenders was an exercise in organized chaos. It takes the eighth spot because while the sheer velocity kept it afloat, the badly blown spots were impossible to ignore. A top-rope hurricanrana nearly ended in absolute disaster for both women.

Fallon Henley continues to be the most underrated worker in the division, holding the sequence together through sheer willpower. The final exchange, a rapid-fire series of finishers culminating in a messy roll-up, felt like a cheap television finish. It protected everyone involved but satisfied absolutely no one in the arena.

7. Oba Femi’s Powerbomb Symphony

Oba Femi squashing two local competitors in exactly 94 seconds is exactly how you book an imposing monster. This squash earns the seventh spot because he did not just defeat the two jobbers; he completely dismantled them. The final sequence saw him hit three consecutive powerbombs, each one looking significantly more violent than the last.

However, the post-match staredown with his presumed challenger fell completely flat. The crowd was still buzzing from the violent squash, and the slow, deliberate face-off completely killed the momentum. Let the monster just be a monster, rather than forcing him to trade menacing glares.

6. The Heritage Cup Rules Explanation

In an era where wrestling rules are routinely treated as mere suggestions, NXT deserves massive credit for actually explaining the Heritage Cup stipulations again. The video package breaking down the scoring system was concise, slick, and well-edited. It treated the audience like adults.

Charlie Dempsey’s subsequent technical exhibition was a masterclass in aggressive mat wrestling. Ranking sixth, this technical masterclass was brilliant in execution, but the major downside was the live audience completely dying during the extended hold-exchanges. Technical wrestling is a hard sell in 2026, especially on a developmental show built around dangerous high spots.

5. Giulia's Backstage Interview

Giulia does not need to say much to completely command the television screen. Her backstage interview was short, sharp, and dripping with unearned arrogance. She dismissed the entire locker room as minor league talent who were barely worth her time.

This cracks the top five because her solo character work was flawless, but the predictable interruption held it back. Can we please have one wrestling interview that just ends naturally? The sudden arrival of a rival challenging her to a fight right there is a tired trope that desperately needs to be retired. It ruined a perfectly good piece of business.

4. Tony D'Angelo’s Sit-Down Dinner

The Family’s cinematic segments are usually the highlight of the week, and this was absolutely no exception. Tony D'Angelo hosting a business dinner to negotiate a match stipulation was absurd but wildly entertaining. The dialogue was sharp, leaning heavily into mobster clichés without totally crossing into parody.

This absurd but wildly entertaining segment claims the fourth spot because it perfectly breaks up the serious athletic contests. D'Angelo throwing a glass of wine against the brick wall to make a point was a genuinely great visual. It is ridiculous wrestling television, but it works because everyone involved plays it completely straight.

3. Ethan Page's Ring Announcer Hijacking

Ethan Page grabbing the microphone from the ring announcer before his match even started is peak heel work. He aggressively refused to let the match begin until the crowd verbally acknowledged him. It was a cheap heat tactic, but Page executes it flawlessly every time.

Ranking third, this pre-match stalling was masterful character work that dictated the entire pace of the segment. He spent far more time arguing with a fan in the front row than he did actually applying wrestling holds. It is a highly risky strategy that can easily alienate viewers, but Page has the natural charisma to pull it off.

2. The Return of Trick Williams

The pop for Trick Williams was easily the loudest crowd reaction of the entire night. After missing exactly 21 days to sell a brutal injury, his surprise run-in during the main event was executed perfectly. The timing was exact, the music hit at the absolute peak of the beatdown, and his flurry of offense looked devastating.

He completely cleared the ring in thirty seconds. This earns the runner-up spot purely based on the deafening crowd reaction, though a missed camera cut kept it from number one. The camera completely missed his actual entrance, choosing to focus on the ring instead of the entrance ramp.

1. Roxanne Perez Snapping

The main event segment was not a professional wrestling match; it was a public execution. Roxanne Perez completely abandoning her technical style to just violently assault her opponent with a steel chair was a shocking escalation. The referee stoppage added a layer of gritty realism that WWE rarely achieves.

She did not bother to hit a finisher; she just swung the chair until the official threw the match out completely. This claims the top spot because it was uncomfortable, intense, and exactly the shocking escalation the feud needed. The visual of Perez sitting on the top turnbuckle, staring blankly, was the undeniable image of the night.

Honorable Mentions

A few smaller moments deserve a nod despite missing the main list. The opening video package highlighting the 25 days remaining until WrestleMania 41 was stellar production work that set the mood perfectly. Additionally, the brief backstage cameo by the Good Brothers was a fun nod to the past, even if it predictably led absolutely nowhere.

Finally, the commentary team deserves massive praise for completely ignoring the ugly botches during the opening match. The broadcast was flawed and chaotic, but it ultimately delivered exactly what was required to sell the upcoming premium live event in April.