NXT Review: 13/12

The Iron Survivors, Wes Lee VS Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo

NXT kicked off with Roxanne Perez in the ring but before she could say anything, Grayson Waller pulled up in the parking lot and he took over the whole segment. Waller was pretty funny in this segment, particually when he kept ignoring Roxanne Perez. Bron Breakker came out to defend Perez before he chased Waller off and once he left, Mandy Rose showed up and attacked Perez from behind. This was a fine starting segment that was pretty funny and unique. They should have more male vs female promo segments.

Grade: B+

We cut backstage to see a medical professional telling JD McDonagh that he was cleared to compete before McDonagh took the mick out of Julius Creed being in the medical area again. Brutus Creed was angry at this and he challenged him to a match for later on in the night. We then cut straight back to the ring were Roxanne Perez said that she didn’t want to wait for New Year’s Evil and challenged her to an NXT Women’s Championship match tonight! Mandy Rose accepted it meaning we were going to see Mandy Rose defend her NXT Women’s Championship against Roxanne Perez. After this, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo attacked Wes Lee from behind before the two brawled into the ringside area to have their match. This was a solid match and I thought that Stacks looked pretty decent. In the end though, Wes Lee picked up the win with his awesome handspring kick. After the match, Dijak came out and his distraction allowed Tony D to attack the North American Champion from behind. I’m very much guessing that these three will battle for the North American Championship at New Year’s Evil on January 10th.

Grade: C+

Toxic Attraction VS Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley, Von Wagner VS Odyssey Jones

Andre Chase and Thea Hail saw that Duke Hudson was talking to Drew Gulak and they weren’t very happy about it. Thea Hail thought Hudson was trying to transfer but Duke made it clear that he bleeds Red and Black. We then went into a match between Toxic Attraction and the team of Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley. This was a short match which saw both teams try their hardest to earn the victory but in the end, Katana Chance and Kayden Carter attacked both Jayne and Dolin meaning the match ended in a Disqualification. This was a decent way to get to a triple threat match.

Grade: C

Fallon Henley was down backstage before Briggs and Jensen tried to cheer her up. They all hugged and Brooks Jensen stated that 2023 was going to be their year. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were then sitting backstage watching clips of NXT Deadline. Trick Williams made it clear that Axiom was taking the mick out of Hayes and this made Melo challenge Axiom to a match. I’m really looking forward to that. It was then time for a battle between Von Wagner and Odyssey Jones. Both men are strong/powerful individuals so they both played into that. Mr. Stone tried to cause interference but he was stopped by Edris Enofe which then allowed Malik Blade to hit a dropkick onto Wagner behind the referee’s back before Odyssey Jones picked up the win with his splash. It wasn’t a particually great match but I’m happy that Odyssey won. He still doesn’t look 100% but once he gets there, he’s going to be a big part of this brand.

Grade: C

Javier Bernal VS Ikemen Jiro, The New Day’s Championship Celebration

Javier Bernal was backstage with McKenzie Mitchell and Bernal was coming up with names for his fanbase. I really enjoy these segments, particually because Bernal and Mitchell are great in them. Bernal then took on Jiro in a match that I thought was pretty decent. I’ve become a fan of Bernal over the past month and he put on another good show whilst it was also nice to see Ikemen Jiro back in the ring; he has such a unique look and style. In the end, Jiro got the shock victory after hitting “Big Body Javi” with a really cool looking kick. After the match, Jiro was attacked and layed out by Scrypts. Take away the Scrypts part, I thought this was pretty good overall.

Grade: B-

A video aired were Wendy Choo talked about how Cora Jade throwing a drink in her face brought back some horrible memories from high school. Choo said she was delighted at the fact that Jade lost on Saturday and made it clear that she will get revenge on her at some point. I thought this was shot well. We then went into the New Day’s Championship Celebration. Kofi Kingston talked about how he is the first ever triple crown singles and tag team champion whilst Xavier Woods talked about how this victory means everything in his career has come full circle. Pretty Deadly then came out and demanded a rematch after they told the New Day that they ruined Christmas. Woods brilliantly said that they wouldn’t do that because Santa was in the crowd. Kofi Kingston then praised both Wilson and Prince before they said to earn their rematch, they had to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. They wouldn’t do this and then out of nowhere, Briggs and Jensen came down to the ring and did it meaning they are getting the shot at the tag champs next week. The New Day came across really well in this segment whilst Pretty Deadly are fantastic.

Grade: B-

JD McDonagh VS Brutus Creed, Lyra Valkyria makes her debut

Elektra Lopez was backstage with a bunch of the other women’s wrestlers and she was taking shots at Indi Hartwell. Hartwell then showed up out of nowhere and booted Lopez in the face before the other women broke it up. We then went into the match between JD McDonagh and Brutus Creed and I thought this was solid. Both men put on a good show and I definetly think Brutus has a lot of potential. JD McDonagh looked to attack Brutus with a chair but he was once again stopped by Indus Sher. This ended up being a good thing for the Irish Ace as he hit two “Devil Insides” to get the win. JD picking up the win made sense and I also don’t feel like this hurt Brutus either which is good.

Grade: C+

Zoey Stark was being interviewed by McKenzie Mitchell and she challenged Nikkita Lyons to a match for next weeks show. Isla Dawn then cut a creepy promo were she was preparing for the longest day of the year. We then went to the debut of another creepy character, Lyra Valkyria. Her entrance was pretty cool and it even included fake rain which was interesting. Valkyria took on Amari Miller and it was a pretty dominant performance from Valkyria which ended up seeing her pick up the victory after hitting a pretty cool looking frog splash. Amari Miller’s career just hasn’t really started in NXT. I think she should either turn heel or join a tag team as that’s probably the best way to get her on TV. As for Valkyria, she looked pretty good and that was the whole point of this.

Grade: C

Backstage segments, Duke Hudson VS Damon Kemp

Axiom cut a backstage promo were he accepted Carmelo Hayes’ challenge for a match. Brooks Jensen was then walking backstage before Kiana James came up to him and gave him a present. Jensen thanked her for this before he started rambling on about Henley’s financial issues. Idiot! In the background of this: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter, Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley as well as Toxic Attraction were brawling before WWE officials broke it up. This has now set up a match for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships next week. We then went straight into a match with Chase U’s Duke Hudson taking on Damon Kemp. This was a solid match that made Duke Hudson look great. He is super over with the crowd and he ended up picking up the win after hitting the big boot. The win for Hudson and the celebrations afterwards shows that they are a genuinely team that are fully backed by the crowd. As for Kemp, he lost pretty convincingly but the interesting part of this match was Drew Gulak came out. I could genuinely see Gulak forming a faction with lots of guys and Kemp would be in there for me.

Grade: C

NXT Women’s Championship: Mandy Rose VS Roxanne Perez

The main event of this weeks NXT saw Mandy Rose put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Roxanne Perez. This was a pretty decent match that both women performed well in. Roxanne Perez is a super talent whilst Mandy Rose arguably looked the best she ever has. Rose looked to have got the win with the “Kissed by a Rose” but somehow, Roxanne kicked out at 2. Perez then fought back and she ended up hitting Pop Rox to get the victory meaning Roxanne Perez is the brand new NXT Women’s Champion! Firstly, hats off to Mandy Rose. She’s been superb on NXT and in my opinion, she should go down as one of the best NXT Women’s Champions ever. As for Roxanne Perez, this victory was the icing on the cake for what has been a brilliant year for her. She was the right person to dethrone Mandy and it now sets her up to carry the NXT Women’s division for the next year.

Grade: B