WWE NXT Notes: Jackson Drake, Dion Lennox, & Keanu Carver Advances to Vacant NXT Title Ladder Match, Joe Hendry Gets Attacked By Mystery Attacker & Given Chance To Be Included In NXT Title Ladder Match If Cleared, 2/3 Show Card

Jan 27, 2026

Jackson Drake, Dion Lennonx, & Keanu Carver Advances to Vacant NXT Title Ladder Match

Tuesday’s WWE NXT show at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida featured two Qualifying matches for the Vacant NXT Championship Six-Man Ladder match.

The first match was Dion Lennox defeating Myles Borne.

That wasn't part of the plan. 😲@OfficialEGO tried to give @mylesborne_wwe some help, and it backfired giving @DionLennoxWWE the win! pic.twitter.com/M5jttfDnqE
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2026

The second match was Keanu Carver defeating Andre Chase.

LIGHT. WORK. @KeanuCarverWWE is one step closer to becoming NXT Champion! 😲 pic.twitter.com/R2FBg8fayF
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2026

Jackson Drake also advanced to the Vacant NXT Championship Six-Man Ladder match due to Joe Hendry not being medically cleared to compete after being attacked by a mysterious person(s) backstage during the show.

As a result of their victories, Drake, Lennox, and Carver joins Ricky Saints, Shiloh Hill, and Sean Legacy as the official competitors for the Vacant NXT Championship Six-Man Ladder match at the February 3rd WWE NXT show.

Joe Hendry Gets Attacked By Mystery Attacker & Given Chance To Be Included In NXT Title Ladder Match

Tuesday’s WWE NXT show also featured Joe Hendry being pulled from his scheduled Qualifier match against Jackson Drake due to him not being cleared to compete.

During the show, Hendry was seen laying on the ground backstage with The Varsity Project’s Jackson Drake, Ricky Smokes, & Brad Baylor standing next to him. This led to an angry NXT GM Ava showing up yelling at The Varsity Project claiming that they were the ones who attacked Hendry and the Varsity Project claiming it wasn’t them. This led to a NXT referee showing up and informing Ava that Tony D’Angelo has arrived to the building.

Woah, wait a second! 😲

Did The Vanity Project just take out @joehendry?! pic.twitter.com/rDwKSUUZhq
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2026

In a follow-up segment, Ava was seen backstage outside of the NXT medical room. The Varsity Project showed up pretending to be concerned about Hendry. Ava stated that Hendry is not cleared to compete and as a result, Drake automatically qualifies for the Ladder match. The Varsity Project’s celebration was cut short by Ava who announced that if Hendry gets medically cleared in time, he will get put into the Ladder match as well to make it a seven-man match.

BIG news for The Vanity Project. 👀@JacksonDrake03 is IN the NXT Title Ladder Match, but @bradbay1or and @smokeshow_ricky are BANNED from ringside, AND @joehendry will be in the match IF he is medically cleared! pic.twitter.com/UTTGQgqSOD
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2026

Current Card for Next Week’s Show

Tuesday’s WWE NXT show also featured one new match and segment announced for the card of next week’s show on February 3rd at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.

In regards to the notable new additions, one notable new segment announced was Tony D’Angelo giving an announcement regarding his future in NXT. This new segment was setup following a backstage segment involving NXT GM Ava, Ricky Saints, and D’Angelo

"This is not the same Tony D'Angelo."

Does he have your attention now? @TonyDangeloWWE will explain EVERYTHING next week… 🤔 pic.twitter.com/9HYqJeyqyi
— WWE (@WWE) January 28, 2026

The new match and segment announced were:

TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship – ZaRuca (Zaria & Sol Ruca) vs. The Elegance Brand (Heather & M By Elegance) (c)
Tony D’Angelo to explain his actions

Current card for February 3rd WWE NXT show:

Vacant NXT Championship Seven-Man Ladder match – Ricky Saints vs. Shiloh Hill vs. Sean Legacy vs. Jackson Drake vs. Dion Lennox vs. Keanu Carver vs. Joe Hendry
NXT Women’s North American Championship Triple Threat match – Thea Hail vs. Lola Vice vs. Izzi Dame (c)
TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship – ZaRuca (Zaria & Sol Ruca) vs. The Elegance Brand (Heather & M By Elegance) (c)
Tony D’Angelo to explain his actions