Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Axiom VS Ethan Page
After Ridge Holland arrived to mock Chase University and say literally two lines, NXT properly kicked off with a Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match as Axiom took on Ethan Page! This match was really good, and it got like 20 minutes! Axiom is super talented, I rate him so highly, and I feel like he’d be a great fit for this match. Ethan Page is also a Superstar, that guy is terrific, and after a really hard-fought battle, it was All Ego who came away with the victory after a wicked clothesline! After the match, Ethan Page and Nathan Frazer got into a little argument before both Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans arrived to say why they’re going to be this year’s Men’s Iron Survivor! The Tag Team division then arrived as a massive brawl broke out yet again!
Grade: B
Lola Vice VS Wren Sinclair, Tony D’Angelo VS Shawn Spears: NXT North American Championship
Brinley Reece was praising Sol Ruca before Lola Vice and Stephanie Vaquer spoke to each other in Spanish! Lola then got annoyed at some comments made by Wren Sinclair before Ashante “Thee” Adonis and Nikkita Lyons had a conversation which once again bothered Karmen Petrovic! We then headed back down to ringside as it was time for Lola Vice to take on Wren Sinclair. Rather surprisingly, it was Wren who got most of the offense in as Lola seemed a bit rocked, and to be fair to Sinclair, she looked good as always! Unfortunately for her, it only takes one strike for Vice who nailed Wren with a back fist to pick up the win! After the match, Vice challenged Jaida Parker to an NXT Underground Match!
Grade: C+
Tatum Paxley was playing with some dolls before Jacy Jayne came over and bullied her. Tatum then looked at the ginger-haired doll and said “Your past mistakes will haunt you” before Tony D’Angelo was ready to put his NXT North American Championship on the line against Shawn Spears! There was a clear story throughout this match that Tony D’Angelo had injured his knee/leg, and Shawn Spears being the veteran he is, went straight after it! There were a few technical issues that stopped me from fully enjoying this match, but I thought they both did alright, with Tony D eventually retaining with a Spinebuster! After the match, however, The Don was laid out by Spears’ “new muscle!”
Grade: C+
Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Giulia VS Kelani Jordan, Trick Williams Promo
The Tag Team Division was still brawling in the NXT Parking Lot before we got a sad video package of Andre Chase packing up his things from Chase University! It was then time for a Women’s Iron Survivor Qualifier as Giulia went one-on-one with Kelani Jordan! This was another match that got a lot of time, and I think this one was particularly important! Giulia is a well-renowned performer, but she hasn’t done an awful lot since she’s came to NXT. Kelani Jordan is a talented performer, but she didn’t have the best Women’s North American Championship reign. However, this was a really good match that showcased why both women are supremely talented, and yeah, I thought this was needed! In the end, after a tight battle, it was Giulia who picked up the win with a really good finishing manoeuvre!
Grade: B
Ava told a bunch of competitors that there will be a Last Chance Qualifier to get into the Iron Survivor Challenge Matches next week before the NXT General Manager told Axiom and Nathan Frazer that a Battle Royal will take place next week to determine their challenges for Deadline! Eddy Thorpe then got into an argument with Ava which resulted in her getting knocked down to the floor (very inadvertently) and this led to Shawn Michaels shoving Thorpe into the garage door! Trick Williams was then out next to cut a promo about the Superstars that built up NXT to what it is, and he even mentioned Carmelo Hayes which I thought was pretty cool! However, the whole point of this was Trick was basically saying that he will not let Ridge Holland ruin that which is when Ridge came out to laugh about that statement! Eric Bischoff then appeared on the big screen to say that he’ll be coming to NXT next week to get a “closer look at the action”! This was all fine!
Grade: C+
NXT Women’s North American Championship: Fallon Henley VS Tatum Paxley
After a conversation between the members of No Quarter Catch Crew, it was Main Event time as Fallon Henley put her NXT Women’s North American Championship on the line against Tatum Paxley! It was kind of cool to see these two in this Main Event slot because both Fallon and Tatum have been in NXT for a while now, and they’re both pretty good! The action itself was decent, I thought they were some pretty good moments, and there were certain moments where you could believe Paxley winning the belt which is a good thing! Unfortunately for Pax, there was way too much interference from the rest of Fatal Influence, and after a great reversal from Fallon Henley, The Pro delivered a Fameasser to get the win and retain her Women’s North American Championship! After the match, Fatal Influence continued to beat up Tatum Paxley before Gigi Dolin made her return to NXT to make the save! In theory, Gigi and Tatum could work quite well together!
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