25 Best Wrestling Moments Of 2025

11. Jacy Jayne Wins The Big One?!

NXT Jacy Jayne Jordynne Grace
WWE

Shawn Michaels’ NXT, if you’re not inclined to enjoy sports entertainment, can best be described as spiritual agony. The synthetic acting, heightened storytelling, harebrained ideas: you have to love WWE to love it. You have to love WWE and accept its baffling internal logic to even make sense of it.

Something actually inspired happened on May 27: Jacy Jayne dethroned Women’s champion and surefire main roster sensation Stephanie Vaquer. In this era of NXT, in which the post-WrestleMania call-up barely happens and Triple H is generally cautious about the process generally, very few people expected Vaquer to get permanently fast-tracked. Even fewer expected Jacy Jayne - leader of Fatal Influence, the Corre of Toxic Attraction - to beat her on the way out.

The shock result was produced to incredible effect. Vic Joseph - mercifully - was lost for words as the camera panned around the audience. WWE borrowed from the scene of the Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak coming to an end, and somehow, it didn’t scan as an over-ambitious parody. Jacy Jayne, who is very good, was superb in contorting her “told you so face”. In another great twist in a genuinely productive and unpredictable bit of character development, Jayne, accused by her fellow roster members of being the most beatable champion in NXT history, became a “champ-champ” by also capturing the TNA title simultaneously.

This was also necessary, since the much-heralded NXT women’s division had become the place into which hot free agents swept and won the belt almost immediately. NXT felt like a meritocracy here - an actually functioning developmental programme.

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!