Lola Vice earns No. 1 contender spot for NXT Women's Title

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Short Change VICE TIME 🔥@lolavicewwe picks up the WIN and is now No. 1 Contender for the NXT Women's Title! pic.twitter.com/LcCzk3JLdT — WWE (@WWE) July 15, 2026 This isn’t a new idea from me that NXT’s women’s division has more going for it than the men. Part of the reason why is matches like this week’s main event, and stories like Kelani Jordan’s. Kelani, Lola Vice, and Kali Armstrong were incredible in a match for a shot at Kendal Grey’s championship. It showed their physicality, agility, grace, and what makes each of them unique wrestlers. More importantly, from a writing standpoint, it told the story of Kelani having the worst luck in the world. Vic Joseph kept harping on Kelani being 0-8 in number one contender matches. That’s a terrible record that’s as close to “0 for the century” as one can get in wrestling. Of course those weren’t all 1 on 1 matches, but it speaks to the idea that The Standout is overlooked and underrated. However, the main event showed Kelani just doesn’t catch the same breaks as her opponents. She often says its because she’s held back but it has nothing to do with that. Take this ending for example. Kali hits Lola with the Kali Connection, which knocks Lola out of the ring momentarily. Kelani catches Kali off guard and rolls her up, only for Kali to reverse it, only for Kelani to reverse the reverse! Which leads to the closest two-count I’ve ever seen. That was the first time Kelani looked stunned. She kept going and traded blows with Kali, which gave Lola enough time to recover. The former champ barreled into the ring with that back fist loaded up. Kelani ducked and Kali ate all of it. What I neglected to mention is Kelani ducked by moving out of the way and somersaulted into the ropes. Her momentum carried her elbow back into Lola’s face. But Kali was down for the count. She was done. In fact, I question why Kelani didn’t just pin her there with Lola out of commission for a bit. Instead, she went to the top rope for a 450 Splash. Before she could get the pin, Lola came to, kicked her out of the ring, and took the pin for herself. As an aside, her shoulders were down too. The match said it all: Kelani does all the work but she’s never in the right place when it counts. She’s already a heel. She’s turning face. I don’t know what else they can do with her frustrations but it’s such an interesting story. What do you do when you keep coming up short and you’ve tried everything you can think of to change that? How do you break the ceiling you keep bumping your head against? It helps that she’s lived in NXT for quite a while now. This wouldn’t be much of a story if she didn’t have that longevity in Orlando. I wrote a while ago it’s time for her to move to the main roster. I still feel think that but not as strongly as I did many moons ago. I want to see this woman win a championship because nobody can have luck this bad. Then again, there’s only one Lani. B-Sides Vanity Project survives. That’s the best way I can describe their title defense against Dorian Van Dux & Sean Legacy. This was an awesome opening tag that reminded me of the old NXT days. Not entirely, mind you, but just a bit. DVD (no VHS) & Sean looked like very worthy challengers. The only reason they’re not champions now is because Myka Lockwood lifts weights and men. Their luck has to run out at a certain point but as of now, they’re dope heel champs because they do what heels should do to win even when they don’t have to. Tony D’Angelo still wants Naraku. As he should considering the poison mist and a freaking fireball. After Naraku defeated Tate Wilder, Tony attacked. Naraku, of course, went for the mist again but missed Tony and hit an NXT official instead. I liked this fire from Tony. I’m always a fan of proactive faces who rather be victors than victims. It defies logic that someone aggrieved as much as Tony would just sit back and do nothing. Tony took it a step further later when he demanded Stone give him, the champ, a rematch with Naraku. Now, since this is a man he already defeated, I don’t really get the need for the title to be on the line since that’s something the challenger usually demands. I also would’ve liked this demand to come from Naraku first while Tony forcefully agreed with the decision. Either way, this championship match is next week in a street fight, and it sounds like the final battle Tavion Heights found out about Vanity Project’s heel abilities too. He wanted nothing more than to defeat Jackson Drake but the numbers weren’t in his favor. I liked Jackson and Tavion mixing it up with some actual wrestling during the match, and using those mat skills to taunt each other. But in the end, it came down to Swipe Right being ringside and Tavion not having any backup. They distracted him just long enough for Jackson to get a roll up victory. Saquan, Saquan. The man spent most of the episode looking for a partner to take on DarkState. Shocker, he didn’t have many volunteers. That’s what happens when one spends most of their career as part of a group that terrorizes everyone. He did, however, get an invite to join the WrenQCC. I’d watch that in a heartbeat. But in the end, Noam Dar & Romeo Moreno agreed. Why? Romeo thinks a victory over DarkState puts them in prime position for a tag team title shot, and Saquan appealed to Noam’s sizable ego. Man, I really miss Meta-Four. Words I thought I’d never think, much less type. Reina Volcana debuts next week. I pity the person they feed her. Who will face Zaria? Well, everyone! Zaria defended her championship Nikkita Lyons, Izzi Dame, and Lizzy Rain. This was another solid four way dance that, of course, ended in chaos. Late in the match, Nattie and Karmen Petrovic interfered, which led to Jaida Parker being a woman of her word. All of that outside drama led to Zaria pinning Nikkita and retaining. Nikkita is vastly improved and might finally capitalize on the potential NXT thought she had back in the 2.0 days. Nattie and crew didn’t let Jaida slide. They attacked her later for some get back, then Nattie challenged Jaida to a match next week. I really hope NXT does the right thing this time and let’s Jaida get the win. If not, I really don’t know what they’re doing with her. This was a fun two hours. The territory feels like it’s in a better place post-Great American Bash. It’s slowly but surely establishing new stars, but still looking for a breakout. It’s also looking for some breakout stories. The women rule the roost and the men aren’t as nearly compelling. What say you, Cagesiders? Is Kelani ever getting that title or should she let go of that dream?