Axiom VS Carmelo Hayes
This week's NXT kicked off with two of the show's brightest stars as Carmelo Hayes took on Axiom. Axiom hit a lot of cool moves onto Carmelo including a suplex off of the ropes and he even hit a hurricanrana off of the top rope. Melo also brought a lot to this match and he continues to be one of the best in the whole company. Axiom looked like he was about to get the victory but Trick Williams dropped him whilst the referee wasn’t looking and this allowed Hayes to hit the “Don’t Miss” to get the win. I actually found this to be similar to Melo’s match with Giovanni Vinci, it was good but it could have been a lot better. Hopefully, they will come across each other's paths again in the future.
Grade: B
Nikkita Lyons VS Zoey Stark, NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Toxic Attraction VS Diamond Mine
Grayson Waller cut a backstage promo where he challenged Bron Breakker to an NXT Championship match for tonight. McKenzie Mitchell told Waller that Breakker wasn’t in the building before Grayson called him a coward. Tony D’Angelo was then backstage with Stacks and he announced that he has an NXT North American Championship match with Wes Lee on next week's show. He then told his sidekick that he needs to go to Dijak and tell him to not get involved in the match next week. It was then time for a match between two former teammates as Nikkita Lyons battled Zoey Stark. During Lyons’ entrance, Zoey Stark attempted to attack her from behind but Nikkita dodged as this isn’t the first time that Stark has attempted this. The two had an alright match, Stark is a good wrestler whilst Lyons clearly has a lot of potential. In the end, Zoey Stark managed to steal the win after rolling-up Lyons whilst holding onto the ropes. Personally, this match should have felt like a big deal if they’d built the story up and had the match take place on a big stage but neither of those things happened.
Grade: C+
Cora Jade talked about how Roxanne Perez is the luckiest person alive before Wendy Choo attacked her. I’m guessing their big match will take place at New Year’s Evil. We then went to Fallon Henley’s bar to see that the family is clearly struggling to pay off their debts. Kiana James walked in and told Henley that she could buy the land off the bank before Henley challenged her to a match for next week's show where the winner would win the Bar. It would have been cool to have had the match be a barroom brawl or a pub rules match but it just wasn’t meant to be. Toxic Attraction then made their first entrance post-Mandy Rose and the reason for this was because they were about to battle for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships against Diamond Mine’s Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley and the champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. I thought this match was actually pretty solid, Toxic Attraction are a good tag team whilst Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley are both clearly improving. The ending saw Katana Chance fall on Dolin and Jayne who were on the outside before Ivy Nile locked in her dragon sleeper on Kayden Carter. Carter then did a really good job of rolling over Nile before she picked up the win to retain her and Chance’s championships. A good showing by all involved.
Grade: B
Roxanne Perez’s first official interview as Champion, Indi Hartwell VS Elektra Lopez
From out of nowhere, we got a video of Oro Mensah enjoying his time at a party. What a weird NXT run he’s had so far. Roxanne Perez was then doing a sit-down interview with her old trainer Booker T and the two talked about her rise from when she started in Reality of Wrestling to now being the NXT Women’s Champion. Perez said that the reason she challenged Mandy Rose to the title match on last week’s show was that she wanted to bet on herself, something Booker T told her in the past. This felt real which is a good thing. Apollo Crews then returned to NXT and he made it clear that he isn’t out of championship contention before Carmelo Hayes’ music hit. Melo told Apollo that he was next in line before the two made it clear that they would have a match down the line. This was a big moment in NXT as this was the first time that Carmelo Hayes has properly “stepped up” into the main event picture (if you get what I mean). I’m guessing that Melo will take on Crews at New Year’s Evil in a number 1 contenders match.
Grade: B+ for Roxanne, B- for Melo
The New Day were backstage and Pretty Deadly walked in with a bunch of Christmas presents that the tag team champions had asked for. Kofi made it clear that they had to get all the presents to earn their championship match before Xavier Woods asked Prince and Wilson to find him a Tyler Breeze selfie stick. Alba Fyre was then walking backstage before Isla Dawn spat mist into her face. We then cut to Odyssey Jones, Edris Enofe and Malik Blade who asked Ava Raine if she wanted to come out and party with them. Raine said no before the Schism came up to them. This was the setup for a six-man tag team match for next week's show. Alba Fyre was then being looked at in the medical center before Grayson Waller came up and asked them if they’d seen Bron Breakker. We then got a match between Elektra Lopez and Indi Hartwell that saw Elektra get the win after hitting Indi Wrestling with the brass knuckles. The reason I didn’t put much effort into talking about this match was because it was pretty short. I like both Hartwell and Lopez, they have both been involved in my favorite factions in WWE but neither of them are quite good enough to carry one another.
Grade: C-
Isla Dawn sends another message, NXT Tag Team Championships: The New Day VS Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen
Wes Lee confirmed that he had accepted Tony D’Angelo’s challenge for a North American Championship match, stating that he has to face all challengers to be a truly good champion. He’s right. Sol Ruca then came out as she was meant to have a match with Alba Fyre but during Fyre’s entrance, Isla Dawn attacked her again by putting her arm in the steel steps. It’s a shame that Sol Ruca wasn’t able to wrestle on the show but it was a good way to further the Fyre and Dawn feud. We then cut back to Chase University and we saw all the students going up to Andre Chase and giving him some gifts. Chase wasn’t happy with the people that were giving him Fruit Cake and when Duke Hudson arrived, he took a present from a student before he gave it to Mr. Chase and claimed it was from him. Overall, this was really funny, they are still one of my favorite acts in all of WWE.
Fallon Henley, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen were all backstage before Kiana James came up to them and wished Brooks good luck. After a quick segment where Drew Gulak invited Hank Walker to a session on next week’s show, The New Day put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against Briggs and Jensen. I thought this match was pretty solid, we all know how good the New Day are, but I’ve been really impressed with how much better Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen have become in the squared circle. Josh Briggs has a brilliant hot tag and the moonsault he hit was amazing. Kiana James was also sitting in the crowd to support the challengers, but in the end, The New Day picked up the win after Xavier Woods hit his amazing elbow drop. The two teams shook hands after the match to remind everyone that they are proper babyfaces.
Grade: B
Grayson Waller outsmarts Bron Breakker
Diamond Mine were walking through the parking lot and Ivy Nile stated that she and Paxley are improving as a team. Indus Sher then came up to them and told the Creed Brothers that their match is getting closer. Grayson Waller then came out and called Bron Breakker. When Breakker didn’t show, Waller talked about how he is the biggest star in both NXT and the whole of the WWE and nobody is on his level. All of a sudden, Bron Breakker pulled up in the parking lot and came into the arena. He then hit Grayson Waller with a spear but he didn’t get up from it. Grayson Waller then stood up and revealed that under his coat, he was wearing a Steel Plate. Waller then stood tall, holding the NXT Championship whilst shouting at Bron that this is “the Grayson Waller Effect”. Grayson’s on fire right now. Sadly, he isn’t going to win the world title.
Grade: B-
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