Tony D’Angelo Returns Bandaged and Burned on NXT After Naraku’s Fireball Attack

NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo made a dramatic return on the June 23 episode of WWE NXT, appearing with visible facial burns sustained from a fireball attack delivered by Naraku earlier in the same broadcast. The assault sent D’Angelo to the hospital at the top of the show, leaving WWE officials scrambling with the Great American Bash pay-per-view looming on the horizon.

The angle added a layer of genuine urgency to the NXT title picture heading into one of the brand’s marquee annual events. D’Angelo has been one of NXT’s most prominent figures in recent months, carrying the championship while leaning into his mob-boss character with the Famiglia stable. Naraku’s willingness to resort to a fireball — one of the most visceral weapons in professional wrestling’s theatrical arsenal — signals that the feud between the two has escalated well beyond a standard title rivalry.

By returning to the show the same night despite the injuries, D’Angelo reinforced the toughness central to his character, though the visible burns served as a constant visual reminder of the damage done. With Great American Bash on the near horizon, how WWE books D’Angelo’s physical condition into the storyline will be one of the more compelling threads to follow on NXT in the coming weeks.

Fans tuning into NXT heading into the Great American Bash can expect this rivalry to remain front and center — and after a fireball to the face, the stakes have never felt higher for the NXT Champion.