Kendal Grey defends NXT Women's Title against Lola Vice tonight

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ORLANDO, FLORIDA - JULY 21: Lola Vice and NXT Women's Champion, Kendal Gray face off during NXT at the WWE Performance Center on July 21, 2026 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Harry Aaron/WWE via Getty Images) | WWE via Getty Images NXT will emanate from the Performance Center in Orlando tonight, with less than 4 weeks until NXT’s summer PLE, Heatwave. The NXT Women’s Title will be defended in an NXT Underground match. Plus, the NXT Tag Team and Women’s Speed Titles will also be up for grabs. Be sure to tune into the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside! The NXT Women’s Champ faces a tough test Kendal Grey is entering her second month as NXT Women’s Champion after defeating Lola Vice at the Great American Bash at the end of June. After securing her first title defense under her belt a few weeks ago, her second one is going to test her in ways she has yet to be tested in her short professional wrestling career. After the buildup to their match at the Bash was relatively calm and respectful by wrestling standards, the heat was turned up several notches two weeks ago during an in-ring confrontation between Kendal Grey and her #1 contender, the former champion, Lola Vice. Looking to head into their rematch with an edge with her sights set on regaining the title that she recently held for 85 days, Lola made sure to let Kendal know that, while she may have beaten her in one wrestling match at Great American Bash, there’s no way she can beat Lola in a fight. It looks like @lolavicewwe and @kendalgreywwe are headed UNDERGROUND!! 😤 pic.twitter.com/4Of1A1XX4u — WWE (@WWE) July 22, 2026 The logical progression of this fiery interaction led to Kendal agreeing to defend her title in the NXT Underground, a match that Lola Vice has never lost. We’ll find out tonight if Kendal has what it takes to step into what’s become Lola’s signature match and walk out as champion. If not, Lola Vice will become the fifth woman in NXT history to hold the brand’s top women’s title for a second time. Last week, to get us hyped for the match, we saw training montages for both women, including a Kendal Grey training session with Julius Creed, where the champ made it clear that she was going to be ready for Lola. While Kendal’s title reign seems to be just getting started, it would be considered somewhat of an upset if she were able to knock off Vice in an Underground match. But with rumors of Lola potentially making her way up to the main roster in the coming weeks swirling, this could end up being her NXT swan song. NQCC takes on the Vanity Project NXT North American Champion @mylesborne_wwe will defend his title against @wwekamhendrix NEXT WEEK! 🏆 What an ANNOUNCEMENT! pic.twitter.com/aufnzPWeX0 — WWE (@WWE) July 22, 2026 After trying to convince his former partner to team up again for months, Tavion Heights finally got the NQCC reunion he’d been clamoring for two weeks ago. After GM Robert Stone expressed concern about Myles Borne neglecting his duties as North American Champion in the pursuit of tag team gold, Borne offered to defend his singles gold last week if Stone agreed to give him and Heights an NXT Tag Team Title shot on tonight’s show. Borne would go on to defeat Kam Hendrix, setting the stage for the showdown with the Swipe Right boys of the Vanity Project tonight. While Borne’s trajectory since leaving the NQCC has pointed upwards, Tavion hasn’t had nearly as much as success. Myles has put together a solid reign as North American Champion, while Heights has come up empty in his pursuit of the first championship of his career. Is reuniting with his former tag team partner going to provide the spark that Tavion needs to finally get over the hump? Or will this be the latest setback in the former Olympian’s time in NXT? Looking across the ring from Borne and Heights will be Swipe Right. Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes are entering their 6th month at the top of NXT’s tag team division and will this will be their fifth title defense. With Jackson Drake and Myka Lockwood sure to be lurking, will the numbers game be enough to ensure that Smokes and Baylor retain? We’ll find out on tonight’s show! Waller & Montana take aim at Tony D NXT kicked off last week’s show similarly to how it ended the week before: with a new top contender to NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo making their presence known. Two weeks ago, it was Cruz Montana, formerly TNA World Champion Mike Santana, who made his signature entrance through the crowd at the conclusion of Tony D’s successful title defense against Naraku. We would hear from Montana on last week’s show, where he reintroduced himself to a crowd that had grown quite fond of him last year when TNA talents frequented WWE’s Tuesday night show. Cruz cut a promo that was personal and authentic in ways that most wrestlers don’t do it, and made sure to let everyone know that he intends to become the NXT Champion. Earlier in the night, though, the show got off to an unexpected start when former WWE Tag Team Champion Grayson Waller tried to do his best 2011 CM Punk and put the entire NXT locker room on blast. After winning the WWE Tag Team Titles in a memorable ladder match over two years ago at WrestleMania 40, Waller’s partnership with Austin Theory ended last year when Theory got hurt and then joined The Vision upon returning. Grayson would serve for several months as the New Day’s hype man until Kofi and Woods left the company this past spring. In an attempt to accomplish something he was never able to in his first stint in NXT, Waller made clear that he, too, was gunning for Tony D’Angelo and the NXT Championship. THIS was absolute chaos 😳 pic.twitter.com/lxubMekZWs — WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 1, 2026 Both Waller and Montana would converge in the ring at the end of last week’s show, which ended with Grayson slipping out the proverbial backdoor as Cruz Montana spun the block on Tony D. With Heatwave coming up in a few short weeks, will one of these newcomers further position themselves for an NXT Title match tonight? Or perhaps, is a Triple Threat for the gold on the horizon? Quick Hits While her WrenQCC buddy has her hands full against Lola Vice, Wren Sinclair has her own title defense tonight, when she takes on North American Champion Zaria for the Women’s Speed Title. If Wren retains, either by pinning or submitting Zaria, or just lasting the 5-minute time limit, she will earn herself a shot at Zaria’s title. Will the Aussie powerhouse become a double champion? Or will Wren get a chance to become one herself by surviving her title defense tonight? EK Prosper returned to NXT recently, saving Hank & Tank from a vicious beatdown at the hands of Keanu Carver, who put Prosper on the shelf in the first place. This week, EK gets the chance to beat Carver for the third time this summer when the two go head-to-head. Will Prosper continue to….. prosper….. against NXT’s unhinged enforcer? Or will Hank & Tank have to come to his rescue this week when Keanu is unleashed on him? Jaida Parker has found an unlikely ally in recent weeks in the form of Thea Hail. After throwing in the towel on Nattie’s behalf and helping Jaida pick up a win over the Low Key Legend two weeks ago. This week, Hail and Parker will team up to take on Nattie’s lackeys, Nikkita Lyons and Karmen Petrovic. Will all of that Hart family greatness rub off on Lyons and Petrovic and help them pick up a win? Or will Thea and Jaida send Nattie & Co. back to the dungeon and back to the drawing board? Angel and Berto showed up on last week’s show in support of their Los Perros del Mal stablemate in AAA, Bronco Nima. Unfortunately for Nima and his OTM partner, Lucien Price, Los Garza’s presence only served as a distraction, allowing Birth Right to beat them in tag team action last week. With Bronco needing to decide at which event he’ll appear on August 30th, when both NXT and AAA have big shows, will the tension between Nima and Price continue to grow this week? Shiloh Hill came up with another win over Tristan Angels last week, most likely putting an end to their ongoing rivalry. Will Angels decide he wants a chance to lose to Shiloh again and try to renew acquaintances this week? Or will Shiloh get the opportunity to take out some of his toothless aggression on somebody else? Mason Rook respected the wishes of Borne and Heights last week and waited until after the North American Title match to jump Kam Hendrix. With both men exchanging barbs on social media this week, is it finally time for Hendrix and Rook to collide in the ring? Or will Kam need some time to recharge his health meter after losing to Myles last week? What’s next for Reina Volcan, Kali Armstrong, Kelani Jordan, and the rest of the stacked NXT women’s division? Will any of them try to make an impact this week in hopes of being next up for a title shot? All this and more on the CW tonight as NXT heads towards their next PLE, Heatwave at the end of the month. Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!