{"id":163563,"date":"2026-06-25T06:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T10:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=163563"},"modified":"2026-06-25T07:51:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T11:51:21","slug":"narakus-nxt-championship-match-contract-signing-was-storytelling-done-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2026\/06\/25\/narakus-nxt-championship-match-contract-signing-was-storytelling-done-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Naraku’s NXT Championship Match Contract Signing Was Storytelling Done Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony D\u2019Angelo will be defending the NXT Championship against Naraku this Sunday at the Great American Bash.\u00a0After last week\u2019s meeting<\/a>, the June 23, 2026, episode of NXT saw Naraku give D\u2019Angelo the signed contract. But inside was a fireball, sending him to the hospital. <\/span><\/p>\n

In his office, NXT General Manager Robert Stone was confronted by the Vanity Project, with Jackson Drake suggesting he replace D\u2019Angelo. Naraku came out to the ring with Stone and said he\u2019ll take the title himself.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mason Rook then arrived, who had problems with both men. He suggested that he would fight Naraku. The Vanity Project showed up, with Drake again repeating that he\u2019ll take the title, leading to a fight with Rook. <\/span><\/p>\n

It looked like the chaos was over, but D\u2019Angelo came back<\/a> with a bandage over his eye, clearly showing that he isn\u2019t giving up easily. This sequence not only gives a preview for Sunday, but also a preview of what could happen in the next couple of months.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

D\u2019Angelo Has a Naraku-inflicted injury to overcome<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

One of the most memorable instances of a fireball to the face happened in NXT. At the Great American Bash in 2020, Keith Lee won a Winner Takes All match, retaining his NXT North American Championship while taking the NXT Championship from Adam Cole. In the build to NXT Takeover XXX, Keith Lee was presented with the contract by Karrion Kross. A fireball was inside, injuring Lee and allowing Kross to become NXT Champion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"NXT
NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo will be looking for his next challenger on the April 28, 2026, episode of NXT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The same thing will hopefully happen to Naraku<\/a>, which is why he did it in the first place. If D\u2019Angelo\u00a0fights him,\u00a0he\u2019ll\u00a0be at a\u00a0disadvantage. Wrestling with one eye is\u00a0dangerous, as it can\u00a0impact\u00a0your ability to sense your opponent\u2019s attacks. Doing this\u00a0will give him an easy victory so he can become NXT Champion himself. <\/span><\/p>\n

If D\u2019Angelo\u00a0retains\u00a0the NXT Championship,\u00a0it\u2019ll\u00a0be an incredible comeback story. But if he loses,\u00a0it\u00a0will show that Naraku had a huge advantage throughout the\u00a0match by attacking\u00a0him while he was defenseless.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Drake and Rook are Now the Next Contenders<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

No matter if\u00a0D\u2019Angelo or Naraku wins on Sunday, this segment previewed the next challengers for the title. Drake has been impressive as part of the Vanity Project, with Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes holding the NXT Tag Team Championships.\u00a0He wants to add more gold to the faction, which is why he wants a chance at the title. <\/span><\/p>\n

Rook also has been great in his\u00a0short time\u00a0in\u00a0NXT.\u00a0He\u2019s\u00a0only been in two matches, with one of them being a loss to Naraku to get the title opportunity. <\/span><\/p>\n

But his athleticism and promo ability show that he has what it takes to be a star. If D\u2019Angelo wins, there\u2019s no doubt Drake and Rook will confront him next Tuesday. The same thing will happen if Naraku wins. No matter what, that\u2019s probably going to be the next number one contender\u2019s match for the title. This segment advanced the story between D\u2019Angelo and Naraku while showcasing the next two men to challenge for the title.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>How to Watch WWE In Every Country It\u2019s Available<\/a><\/p>\n

The NXT Championship is Very Important Right Now<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

D\u2019Angelo won the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver against Ethan Page, Joe Hendry, and Ricky Saints.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>A<\/span>ll three of them got called up to the main roster<\/span>, leading<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>to promotions from Evolve and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>debuts.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>The new influx of talent included\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Naraku and Rook<\/a>, who\u00a0<\/span><\/span>have\u00a0<\/span><\/span>been\u00a0<\/span><\/span>after<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his<\/span>\u00a0N<\/span>XT Championship<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>for weeks now<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"WWE
A NXT graphic featuring Naraku and Tony D’Angelo. (Photo Credit: WWE)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Drake debuted a couple of months\u00a0<\/span><\/span>earlie<\/span>r, but<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>still<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>has the goal of becoming NXT Champion.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>They a<\/span>ll know<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>his journey to get the title<\/span>, which is why they want\u00a0<\/span><\/span>to get the title\u00a0<\/span><\/span>off of<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Narak<\/span>u might face him at the Great American Bash, and he might win after the fireball attack<\/span>. Even if that happens, Drake and Rook will be next in line for the title opportunity. Th<\/span>is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>segment established Naraku as a threat, saw D\u2019Angelo\u00a0<\/span><\/span>seemin<\/span>gly go<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>down\u00a0<\/span><\/span>with an injury but come back, and Drake and Rook become the next contend<\/span>ers.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Doing so makes fans care about the NXT Championship and the journey of many wrestlers to win it themselves.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tony D\u2019Angelo will be defending the NXT Championship against Naraku this Sunday at the Great American Bash.\u00a0After last week\u2019s meeting, the June 23, 2026, episode of NXT saw Naraku give D\u2019Angelo the signed contract. But inside was a fireball, sending him to the hospital. In his office, NXT General Manager Robert Stone was confronted by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5338,"featured_media":162149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2192,4,3],"tags":[9735,8048],"class_list":["post-163563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nxt","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-naraku","tag-tony-dangelo"],"modified_by":"Michael Joseph Sugue, Manager","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163563"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163563\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163578,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163563\/revisions\/163578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}