Like I said, live at TNA Bound For Glory 2025, NXT’s Darkstate ruined a Dream match. After a recent update on the match’s controversial finish and Tuesday’s NXT, we can now say it was absolutely by design. The X-Division Championship match was made to steal the show, but WWE stole the bout away from the TNA and X-Division-style fans.
Multiple sources indicate to The Takedown on SI that WWE had a significant say in the booking direction for the match. Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans were meant to tear the house down, but WWE insinuated itself in the booking. WWE made it a revenge point for another storyline, involving DarkState and The Hardys.
Screwed by Design
If you watched TNA Bound for Glory, maybe you had the same feeling I had. Something was going wrong. A X-Division match is a high-octane match. It’s fast and furious. The moves are crazy, it’s a high-flying extravaganza. The first ten minutes of the bout were unusually long. We had lariats and clotheslines, but no 450 or moonsaults.
When the match finally started to ignite, with crazy sequences, the bell rang. We thought of a 10-count. No, the time limit expired. Usually, when there’s a time limit to a match, TNA says it before the bout. Believe me when I say it’s never been said. TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella agreed to add five more minutes. The match was turning insane when the lights went off. Darkstate attacked both opponents.
The creative for the finish was widely panned by both fans and critics alike on social media, with TNA not delivering a definitive finish to one of its most hyped matches on its biggest show of the year. Talents like Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans are gold. At only 21, their future is bright. With the match taking place at a TNA PLE, WWE may have wanted to eat a piece of the Dream cake. On Sunday night, it was hard to blame TNA, or WWE, or both, until NXT aired this Tuesday night.
.@WWEJeVonEvans takes advantage of the situation and it ALMOST pays off. @LEONSLATER_
WATCH #TNABoundForGlory on TNA+: https://t.co/T2jTpWvQ1d pic.twitter.com/VniEwiKIYo
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) October 13, 2025
The Taped NXT That Said It All
WWE taped the October 14th episode last week, something that was well-known. If not, why was Xia Brookside, who took part in the NXT Women’s Championship Battle Royal, not at TNA Bound for Glory two days before? As revealed by PWInsider, she was ill.
I read the SI piece before reviewing NXT, which confirmed that the Slater vs Evans match was manipulated. As I watched the episode to give you the best of it, one segment shocked me (see below). Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans were unhappy with the end of their BFG match. They were about to form a team to fight Darkstate. The Hardys arrived and said, “Don’t take it personally. What DarkState did was a shot at us.”
As NXT was taped, the axe fell. The Bound For Glory match was decided to end up this way, and WWE had a huge responsibility in it. The Takedown on SI was told that, even before the positive reception to the Bound For Glory match, it was widely believed that Evans and Slater would have another singles match at some point soon. The die was cast; WWE definitely wanted a piece of the Dream cake.
“What DarkState did was a shot at us.”
The Hardy Boyz know DarkState’s attack on @LEONSLATER_ and @WWEJeVonEvans at Bound for Glory was a message to the double champs… 😳 pic.twitter.com/Mn1O2BEMDv
— WWE (@WWE) October 15, 2025
The Partnership Limits
More than the Slater and Evans match itself, WWE stuck its nose in the DNA of TNA. The NXTNA deal is a “collaboration on booking decisions and talent usage as part of their working partnership.” Sources indicated SI that “WWE especially has ‘a lot of pull’ when its talents are utilized on TNA programming.”
Joe Hendry is the best example. He has spent more time in NXT than in TNA since he lost the TNA World Championship at NXT Battleground. NXT’s Trick Williams had a 140+ day reign as TNA World Champion, and Kelani Jordan is the current Knockouts World Champion. A partnership also means sacrifices, and both companies made some. But if you come to TNA, come to play the TNA game.
Since the partnership began, NXT has won the two major TNA titles. Meanwhile, TNA put its hands on the NXT Tag Team titles only 2 weeks ago. And a rematch is already set, at NXT Halloween Havoc on October 25. The scales have been a bit unbalanced, which means there should be a limit on the titles each company can hold.
Friendship aside — it’s OFFICIAL! @indi_hartwell and @kelani_wwe will battle for the Knockouts World Championship at #TNABoundForGlory!
WATCH #TNAiMPACT on TNA+: https://t.co/7ECVmo56nA pic.twitter.com/sf3wg9L3Yq
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) October 10, 2025
X-Division Means TNA, not NXT
This time, WWE targets the X-Division Championship. In February, Moose defended the title on NXT against Lexis King. Through Evans and Slater, the prism is different. The TNA X-Division Championship is a part of the company’s history. It’s its DNA. The X-Division has always existed since the early days of TNA. This title is the reason why Chris Sabin, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, and 52 other talents became Superstars, if not Legends.
WWE NXT is, by nature, a developmental brand. In some ways, each NXT title helps a talent shine and build his/her place on WWE Raw or SmackDown. In TNA, the X-Division Championship is on the same platform and, through Option C, allows a talent to become World Champion. TNA is its own little world. There’s no main or developmental roster. TNA is one roster.
WWE can play every kind of booking game with the TNA talents and titles, but the TNA X-Division Championship is the one WWE should never touch or reach. We may find a few similarities in the way both companies work, but the X-Division is TNA’s private turf. In WWE’s hands, the title would mean nothing, and TNA would lose its soul. Well, no X-Division title would mean no TNA.
The @ThisIsTNA X-Division Championship will be on the line when @LEONSLATER_ defends against @Stacks_WWE NEXT WEEK on #WWENXT!
📺 8ET/7CT on @TheCW pic.twitter.com/YhH6Qa1gzD
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) October 15, 2025
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