Chase University VS OTM
NXT kicked off this week with Tag Team action between Chase University and OTM. The stipulation for this match was if Chase U won, their debt would be whipped clean whilst if OTM won, they would be granted an NXT Tag Team Championship opportunity. This match was fine for what it was, but it didn’t feel that big of a deal which is a shame because it had genuine stakes. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson are always enjoyable to watch, but I’m still not at all convinced by either Bronco Nima or Lucien Price. In the end, it was Mr. Chase’s desire to do right by his School that ultimately cost him as he tagged himself back in when he shouldn’t of and this allowed OTM to hit their Tag Team finisher to get the victory.
Grade: C
NXT Heritage Cup: Noam Dar VS Josh Briggs, Cora Jade VS Karmen Petrovic, Lexis King VS Riley Osbourne: 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament (Semi-Final)
After some of the NXT End of Year Awards were announced (Ilja Dragunov won Men’s, Tiffany Stratton won Women’s, The Creed Brothers won Tag Team), Carmelo Hayes caught up with Trick Williams and questioned why Trick wanted to push back his NXT Championship match. Whilst Williams said it was because he wanted to face Dragunov at 100%, Melo reminded his buddy that in 5 years time, people are only going to remember Trick as Champion, not how he won. Hayes was correct here, but he also hasn’t met me and I definitely will remember how Trick won (in 5 years) if he does come out victorious at NXT New Year’s Evil! Anyway, it was then time for Noam Dar to put his NXT Heritage Cup on the line against Josh Briggs. Briggs dominated the first round without scoring a fall, but he put that right to go 1-0 up after Round 2. Round 3 then took place in the ad break so I can’t tell you much about what happened before the big moment came in Round 4 when Oro Mensah through a bucket into the ring for Noam Dar to use. However, it was Josh Briggs who used the object, and due to the referee seeing this, Briggs was disqualified meaning Noam Dar retained his NXT Heritage Cup. I liked this ending as it was clever, well thought-out, and also very unique. It’s also good storytelling as this probably wouldn’t have happened had Briggs allowed Josh Brooks and Fallon Henley to be in his corner.
Grade: B-
Nathan Frazer was talking to Axiom about Bron Breakker before Bron came over and told Nathan to keep his mouth shut. This set up a match between the two for later in the show. Cora Jade then made her way down to the ring as it was time for NXT’s Resident Mean Girl to go one-on-one with Karmen Petrovic. This match was okay, I wouldn’t call it a must-see contest, but it at least got both women on Tele. In the end, Cora Jade scored the victory with her nice DDT before Gigi Dolin ran down to make the save after the contest was over. Jade should definitely win that feud.
Grade: C
We then went straight into the next match as Lexis King and Riley Osbourne collided in the first Semi-Final of the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament. This match was decent, both guys had bright moments in the contest, and yeah, this was alright stuff. Weirdly, though, Trey Bearhill (who was watching from ringside) stood up and this distracted Lexis to the point that Osbourne was able to hit his good-looking Shooting Star Press to score the 3 count and advance to the Final. For the second straight week, Riley Osbourne has shocked the odds, but I’ll be honest, this may have been more effective as the Final (just a thought).
Grade: C+
Bron Breakker VS Nathan Frazer, Oba Femi VS Tavion Heights: 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament (Semi-Final), Joe Gacy VS Joe Coffey
After Carmelo Hayes-Ilja Dragunov from NXT No Mercy won “NXT Match of the Year” and The Undertaker’s appearance won “NXT Moment of the Year”, it was time for a match between Bron Breakker and Nathan Frazer. To my surprise, this match got plenty of time, but it wasn’t as good as it could’ve or should’ve been. Both of these guys are explosive talents that can be a lot of fun to watch, but it just didn’t quite click here. However, Bron’s Spear on Frazer to win the match was awesome!
Grade: C+ (Mainly because of Breakker’s Spear)
Drew Gulak claimed NXT is now a “No Flight Zone” before No Quarter Catch Crew challenged The LWO to a six-man Tag Team match for NXT New Year’s Evil. Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen, and Fallon Henley then decided that they should all go their separate ways which is a good thing in the sense that no one’s going to turn on each other, but it is also a bit odd. As was Ava gifting Roxanne Perez a match with Arianna Grace despite Perez attacking Arianna for no reason last week. Anyway, Lyra Valkyria and Blair Davenport then exchanged words to hype up their NXT Women’s Championship match at NXT New Year’s Evil (the segment was so short I can’t even Grade it) before it was time to see who would face Riley Osbourne in the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament as Oba Femi and Tavion Heights collided. From what I’ve seen from this tournament, Oba Femi definitely looks like he has the potential to be an important part of NXT programming in 2024. Oba dominated Tavion Heights for the most part and that’s not an easy task considering the size of Heights. In the end, Femi got the win with his cool-looking Powerbomb, and yeah, I'm genuinely intrigued to see who wins the Final next week.
Grade: C+
We then went straight into another match as Gacy took on Coffey in “The Battle of the Joe’s”. This match only went a few minutes before Gallus tried to get involved, only to be fought to the back by Hank and Tank. Back in the ring, Joe Coffey missed when trying to hit his finisher before Joe Gacy hit the Upside Down to pick up the W. There’s not much else to add about this match other than it was fine.
Grade: C
Dijak VS Eddy Thorpe: NXT Underground
After a cool moment that saw Elektra Lopez reunite with her former Legado Family in the form of Cruz Del Toro and Joaquin Wilde, it was Main Event time as Dijak and Eddy Thorpe went to war in an NXT Underground Match. I’ve been honest about this match before, it’s just not for me and I don’t really enjoy it. That probably has something to do with the fact that I love high-flying, fast-paced offense, but I will say that I am a fan of Dijak so he made this a little bit more watchable. The action was okay and this was by far Eddy Thorpe’s best performance to date. In the end, after Dijak refused to pass out in a chokehold, Thorpe sent him crashing through the table with a DDT which was enough to take the victory. Also, after this match was over, Ilja Dragunov and Trick Williams signed the contract for their NXT Championship at NXT New Year’s Evil, and yeah, I’m really looking forward to that.
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