The 2025 Battleground, also promoted as Battleground: Tampa, was a professional wrestlinglivestreamingevent produced by WWE.It was the third annual Battleground held for the promotion's developmental brandNXT, and the eighth Battleground overall.The event took place during Memorial Day weekend on May 25, 2025, at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.This was the first Battleground to air on Netflix in most international markets and it was the first NXT livestreaming event to take place in Tampa.As with the 2023 edition, the event went head-to-head against All Elite Wrestling's Double or Nothingpay-per-view event.
Six matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Trick Williams defeated defending champion Joe Hendry from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) to win the TNA World Championship; this was the first time a TNA championship was defended on a WWE livestreaming event.In other prominent matches, Oba Femi defeated No Quarter Catch Crew'sMyles Borne to retain the NXT Championship and Stephanie Vaquer defeated Jordynne Grace to retain the NXT Women's Championship.
Production
Background
Battleground was previously an annual professional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event established by WWE in 2013.The inaugural 2013 event was held in October,[2] but then moved to July from 2014 to 2017, after which, it was discontinued.[3] Since its revival in 2023, the event has been held for WWE's developmental brand, NXT.On March 7, 2025, NXT's third Battleground event, and eighth overall, was announced to be held during Memorial Day weekend on Sunday, May 25, 2025, at the Yuengling Center in Tampa, Florida.[4] This event was part of a four-night residency at Yuengling Center, alongside Saturday Night's Main Event XXXIX, Monday Night Raw, and NXT; however, the NXT taping for May 27 was cancelled due to low ticket sales.[5] This event became the first NXT livestreaming event to take place in Tampa, as that city was originally planned to host NXT TakeOver: Tampa Bay in 2020 at nearby Amalie Arena, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to Peacock in the United States, the event was also available to livestream on Netflix in most international markets and the WWE Network in a select few countries that had not yet transferred to Netflix due to pre-existing contracts.This marked the first Battleground to livestream on Netflix following the WWE Network's merger under the service in January 2025 in those areas.[6] Beginning with Halloween Havoc in 2024, all major NXT events are branded solely with the WWE logo instead of the NXT logo, marking the first Battleground since 2017 to just use the promotion's logo.Tickets went on sale on March 14 via Ticketmaster.[4]
As with the 2023 event, Battleground went head-to-head with Double or Nothing, a PPV event produced by rival company All Elite Wrestling (AEW).According to WWE executive Shawn Michaels back in 2023, the scheduling was not intended for WWE to go head-to-head with AEW, but that it was just due to the holiday (Memorial Day weekend) as he said WWE events had always done well on holidays.[7][8]
Storylines
The event included six matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT,[9][10] as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) weekly television program, Impact!, following WWE and TNA signing a multi-year partnership in January 2025.[11][12]
Following Oba Femi's successful NXT Championship defense at Stand & Deliver,[13] a battle royal was scheduled for the May 6 episode of NXT to determine the number one contender for the title at Battleground.[14]
Event
Preliminary matches
The event opened with Sol Ruca defending the NXT Women's North American Championship against Kelani Jordan, who was accompanied by Zaria. Ruca delivered a headbutt to Jordan before executing her finisher The Sol Snatcher to retain her title.
In the second match, Hank Walker and Tank Ledger secured a victory by hitting their signature Headbutt and Powerslam combination. Following the bout, The Culling launched a surprise attack on Josh Briggs. Yoshiki Inamura intervened, seizing a steel chair from Izzi Dame and using it to clear the ring.
The third match saw interference from Luca Crusifino, who appeared at ringside to distract Tony D'Angelo and the referee. Taking advantage of the distraction, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo delivered a low blow to D'Angelo and followed up with a bicycle kick to the back of his head to earn the win. After the match, D'Angelo refused a hug from Crusifino, indicating tension between the two.
In the fourth match, Stephanie Vaquer defeated Jordynne Grace to retain the NXT Women's Championship after delivering a Spiral Tap. Post-match, Vaquer was involved in a backstage altercation with AAA wrestlers Chik Tormenta and Dalys. The confrontation escalated when Jacy Jayne slapped Vaquer, leading to a backstage brawl.
In the fifth match, Oba Femi defeated Myles Borne to retain the NXT Championship by delivering two Falls From Grace finishers to secure the victory.
Main event
The main event featured Trick Williams facing Joe Hendry for the TNA World Championship. This marked the first occasion that the TNA World Championship was defended on a WWE pay-per-view event. During the match, Williams seized the TNA title belt, prompting Hendry to attempt his signature Standing Ovation chokeslam. However, Williams countered with an eye rake and executed a flapjack onto the TNA title belt. He then followed up with his finishing manoeuvre, the Trick Shot, to secure the victory. With this win, Williams became the first active WWE wrestler and the third non-contracted TNA wrestler (the other being Kenny Omega and Christian Cage) to capture the TNA World Championship.
Aftermath
On the following episode of NXT, it was announced that NXT Women's Champion Stephanie Vaquer would team with Lola Vice to take on Chik Tormenta and Dalys at Worlds Collide.Also on that episode, Jacy Jayne defeated Vaquer to win the title after interference from Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx.[23]
Ricky Saints would later lose the NXT North American Championship to Ethan Page, marking Page's second NXT singles title win in less than a calendar year.It was then announced that Page would put the title on the line at Worlds Collide against former rival Je'Von Evans as well as SmackDown's Rey Fenix and AAA's Laredo Kid in a fatal four-way match.[23]
At Stand & Deliver, Stephanie Vaquer retained the NXT Women's Championship in a fatal four-way match involving Jordynne Grace and Giulia.[13] On the April 22 episode of NXT, after Vaquer won her match, she was confronted by Grace and Giulia.[16] After Grace's team defeated Giulia's team in a tag team match the following week, NXT General Manager Ava scheduled a match between Grace and Giulia on the May 6 episode, where the winner would face Vaquer for the title at Battleground.[14] The match was won by Grace.[15]
On the April 22 episode of NXT, TNA World ChampionJoe Hendry interrupted NXT Champion Oba Femi and Trick Williams, trying to stake a claim to Femi's title.Williams took exception to Hendry's comments and mocked him for his quick defeat against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41, stating he was "first in line" for the title while telling Hendry he "didn't belong" in NXT. Hendry fired back at Williams's constant complaining before going eye-to-eye with Femi. Williams tried to intervene but was quickly dispatched by the two champions.[16] Five days later at TNA Rebellion, Williams ambushed Hendry after his successful title defense to close the show.[17] On the next episode of NXT, Hendry appeared and called out Williams, but was instead attacked by DarkState (Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, Cutler James, and Osiris Griffin).Williams eventually appeared later, disregarding Hendry as a viable threat and star.[14] Two days later on Impact!, Hendry again called out Williams, but was met with a supposed satellite feed from the latter, who said he was preparing for a battle royal on the next week's NXT to determine Femi's next challenger.In the main event, Williams attacked Hendry during his six-man tag team match, costing Hendry's team the match, with Williams laying out Hendry after the match.[18] It was subsequently announced that Hendry and Elijah, whom Hendry formed an alliance, would face Williams in a tag team match two days before Battleground at TNA Under Siege, marking Williams's TNA in-ring debut.[19] On the next episode of NXT, Williams once again interfered in Hendry's six-man tag team match against DarkState, again costing Hendry the match. Later that night, Hendry interfered in the battle royal, allowing Elijah to eliminate Williams. NXT General Manager Ava subsequently announced that after speaking with TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella, Hendry would defend his title against Williams at Battleground, marking the first time the TNA World Championship would be defended in a WWE ring.[15]
Prior to Stand & Deliver, The D'Angelo Family (Tony D'Angelo, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino, and Adriana Rizzo) had been feuding with DarkState (Dion Lennox, Saquon Shugars, Cutler James, and Osiris Griffin). On the April 8 episode of NXT, Lorenzo challenged DarkState to meet him in the parking lot the following week unbeknownst to D'Angelo, where he and Crusifino engaged in a vicious brawl with DarkState, who got the upper hand until D'Angelo arrived to even the odds. D'Angelo confronted Lorenzo for not consulting him about this plan.[20] This led to a six-man tag team match at Stand & Deliver, where Lorenzo turned on D'Angelo, turning heel in the process and costing The D'Angelo Family the match.[13] Over the following weeks, Crusifino disappeared while Rizzo went into hiding at a safe house per D'Angelo's request. On the April 29 episode, D'Angelo stated that Lorenzo's impulsivity put the group in danger and vowed to get revenge. Lorenzo responded via satellite and stated that D'Angelo had grown soft and was no longer capable of leading the group.[14] On the May 13 episode, D'Angelo competed against Wes Lee, where Lorenzo appeared via satellite from outside of Rizzo's safe house, distracting D'Angelo long enough to cost him the match.Later that night, D'Angelo arrived at the safe house, only to be ambushed by Lorenzo, who stated that he would end D'Angelo at Battleground, with a match between the two being scheduled for the event.[21]
At Stand & Deliver, WWE Women's Speed ChampionSol Ruca won a ladder match also involving Kelani Jordan and Ruca's tag team partner Zaria to win the vacant NXT Women's North American Championship.[13] On the April 29 episode of NXT, Jordan mocked Ruca and Zaria, stating that when she was champion, she defended the title every week.Ruca was about to agree to defend her title, but Zaria interrupted, stating that Jordan would have to face her first.[14] A match between Jordan and Zaria took place on the next episode, where Zaria won.[15] On the next episode, Kelani challenged Zaria for a rematch, stating that if she wins, she would challenge for Ruca's title at Battleground.Ruca agreed, and the match took place on the next episode,[21] where Jordan defeated Zaria.[22]
On the May 6 episode of NXT, Pro Wrestling Noah's Yoshiki Inamura announced that he would be heading back to his native Japan, effectively ending his partnership with Josh Briggs after months of dissension between the two.[15] The following week, Briggs reflected on how he felt guilty as if he pushed Inamura away, but he was comforted by NXT Tag Team Champions Hank and Tank (Hank Walker and Tank Ledger).The Culling leader Shawn Spears interrupted, saying Briggs has a pattern of pushing people away, including his former tag team partner, Brooks Jensen, a member of The Culling.[21] This led to a match between the two on the next episode, where Spears defeated Briggs after interference from the rest of The Culling (Jensen, Niko Vance, and Izzi Dame). After the match, Briggs attacked Spears, but was attacked by The Culling before Walker and Ledger came out to even the odds. Later that night, it was announced that Briggs, Walker, and Ledger would face Spears, Jensen, and Vance in a six-man tag team match at Battleground.[22]
