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Tony D’Angelo has held the WWE NXT Championship for a few months and his upcoming title defense at The Great American Bash may prove to be his biggest test yet.
Naraku burst onto the NXT scene in May and immediately declared his intention to win the championship. He earned the right to be the No. 1 contender when he defeated fellow NXT newcomer Mason Rook. On June 28, D’Angelo and Naraku will square off with the title on the line.
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NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo makes his entrance during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on April 14, 2026. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE)
D’Angelo suggested to Fox News Digital in a recent interview that he’s keeping his antenna up after his latest interaction with Naraku. The challenger presented the official match contract to him unsigned. D’Angelo signed his name on the dotted line but was told he would have to wait a bit longer before Naraku signed his name.
“I mean, kinda. But I also took it as he might be second-guessing himself,” he said. “He might be a little afraid of Tony D. He doesn’t know himself if he wants to step in the ring with me, yet. Yeah, that’s a possibility.”
D’Angelo said he expected Naraku to go after him immediately given his reputation.
Naraku came to NXT from New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he wrestled under the name Evil and was the IWGP heavyweight champion, IWGP intercontinental champion and a four-time Never openweight champion. Naraku’s reputation precedes him.
“I’ll just say I’m not surprised. He came in from Japan. I don’t think he would make that long trek just to hang out. Of course, he’s gonna come for the big dog,” D’Angelo told Fox News Digital. “I get it. To be expected, but the thing that threw me off, I’ll be honest, is the whole, oh he was trying to protect me and my title. I didn’t quite understand it but after going home and thinking about it, I was like, OK, this is just mind games. That he’s messing with me, trying to portray the honorable guy as (opposed) to, ‘If I’m gonna beat you, I want to beat you at your best,’ thing.
Naraku applies an arm-bar on Mason Rook during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on June 9, 2026. (Matt Pendleton/WWE)
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“I’m not quite sold on that yet, especially this past Tuesday where he brought me to his place of business and went to sign a contract and he hadn’t even signed it himself, which … sketch. We’ll see. He said next week, in due time. So, I got my head on a swivel, to say the least.”
D’Angelo said he’s expecting some kind of shenanigans going into the match given that Naraku was a part of the House of Torture. D’Angelo, who was the don of NXT at one point, has now proven he can do it alone. He put the challenge to Naraku to prove it as well.
“Absolutely,” he said when asked about any funny business potentially coming his way. “I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happens. Like I said, this isn’t new to me. I have a past life. I used to be the boss of a family and maybe, I was a part of some shenanigans like that a time or two. I’d be a fool not to expect that. I’m fully aware of his little minions that he had in his past life. I’m expecting the unexpected.”
D’Angelo and Naraku’s title match is one of a few matches on the card.
Lola Vice will put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Kendal Grey, Myles Borne will defend the NXT North American Championship against Tavion Heights, Wren Sinclair will face a challenger for the WWE Women’s Speed Championship and Saquon Shugars takes on Dion Lennox.
Tony D’Angelo celebrates his win at NXT: Stand and Deliver at The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri, on April 4, 2026. (Craig Melvin/WWE Via Getty Images)
The Great American Bash will be the first NXT premium live event exclusively on the CW Network at 8 p.m. ET.
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“I think it’s great. Like you said, it’s the first ever PLE on the CW Network,” D’Angelo said. “We’ll be reaching a larger audience. I think that kind of stuff is very important for WWE but also NXT – us being the ‘third brand’ in my opinion, ‘developmental’ in others. I think it’s good to get the up and coming talent in front of as many faces as we possibly can.”