The Creed Brothers VS Indus Sher, Indi Hartwell VS Zoey Stark
This week’s NXT kicked off with the big grudge match between the Creed Brothers and Indus Sher. Both teams were firing straight out of the gates with heavy shots so you knew how this was going to go. My personal favourite part of this match was when Julius held onto Veer and delivered a powerbomb for a near-fall. After both Sanga and Brutus went crashing to the outside, Julius looked like he was in a position to win the match for his team before Jinder Mahal stepped on the apron. Ivy Nile got up and told him to get down which ended up leading to Julius Creed accidentally talking his friend out. Nile hit the ground really hard. This allowed Veer to tag in Sanga and the former good guy hit a devastating chokeslam to get the win. I thought the action was good here and Indus Sher winning was definitely the right call.
Grade: B-
Axiom was backstage watching some old A-Kid matches from NXT UK before Tyler Bate came up to him and said it reminded him of some of the great clashes he had with the former Heritage Cup Champion. Bate then went on to say that Axiom reminded him of A-Kid for some reason before the two agreed to have a singles match later on in the show. Damon Kemp came up to them and said he hates friendly competition before he them to tell A-Kid that he sucks. It was then time for our next match as Indi Hartwell took on Zoey Stark. This match came about because both women were taking shots at each other for their Royal Rumble performances. Indi then said that Zoey was the one who attacked Nikkita Lyons, but Stark replied saying that if she’d done it, she’d be happy to tell. That is a very good point and also, I don’t really think Indi Hartwell can criticise Zoey Stark’s performance in the Women’s Royal Rumble. The match itself was actually pretty decent, Indi Hartwell has been on a really good run recently and I will stand by my opinion that Zoey Stark is in the top 3 when it comes to in-ring ability in the NXT Women’s division. This was a physical contest (which makes sense) and either person could’ve picked up the win. In the end though, Zoey got the win with the best finisher in NXT, maybe even WWE. After the match, Stark continued to beat down Indi Wrestling until Sol Ruca made the save. I’d definitely be up for that match.
Grade: B-
Dijak VS Von Wagner, Bron Breakker and Grayson Waller, Axiom VS Tyler Bate
The Schism cut a promo about how they are going to go to Vengeance Day and take what is owed to them (the NXT Tag Team Championships). They also made it clear that they think that Chase University is both a joke and a scam. We then got a video from Apollo Crews who was already in Charlotte, North Carolina. He cut a promo about how he is going to beat Carmelo Hayes before he had a vision of a man with dreadlocks taking out Trick Williams. I originally thought it could be Oro Mensah, but I’m actually wondering if it’s going to be Commander Azeez. Wes Lee was then out in the ring as he cut a promo about how he never gives up and that he is going to stay as the NXT North American Champion after Vengeance Day. Dijak interrupted this and said that there is no way that Wes walks out of Charlotte still the champion and he is going to make Lee pay for not giving up his championship in the first place. Von Wagner and Mr. Stone were then out and they made it clear that they weren’t happy about Von being forgotten. Wes Lee then did a good job at poking the bear which meant we got a match between Dijak and Wagner to see who the biggest and toughest man on NXT really is. The two had their match and I actually thought it was another decent match. Due to Dijak having pretty rubbish characters over the past 3 years, you kind of forget how good he is inside the ring. He’s very powerful and maybe the biggest praise I can give him is that he made Von Wagner look good. I’m not joking, Wagner looked like a more imposing figure than ever before and he nearly picked up the win a few times. In the end though, Dijak got the victory with the Feast Your Eyes. When we get to NXT next week, he’s definitely going to be holding the North American Championship.
Grade: B-
Tony D’Angelo was backstage with Stacks and the Underboss made it clear that he had dealt with one of the issues last week and he’s going to sort out the other one tonight. They haven’t made it clear what these issues are so I don’t actually if these segments are important or not. McKenzie Mitchell then gave us an update by showing us the surroundings of when Nikkita Lyons got attacked. Valentina Feroz, Elektra Lopez, Tiffany Stratton, Wendy Choo, Zoey Stark and others were all near by and Indi Hartwell and Lyra Valkyria were the ones who came to Lyons’ aid. I do actually hope that it’s Valentina Feroz, but with Lyons potentially out for 9 months, we might not know the culprit till near the end of 2023. We then got a video package showcasing the story of Bron Breakker VS Grayson Waller. Both men made it clear that they are going to walk out of the biggest NXT show as the face of the brand. I always like these videos so I enjoyed this. We then went into our next match as Tyler Bate took on Axiom. I thought this match was really good, both men are superb workers and it was a lot of fun. I think this match worked particularly well because they are so good at so many things; they are both good technical wrestlers, they are both good mat wrestlers and they are also pretty good high-flyers. After a lot of back and forth, Tyler Bate managed to hit the Tyler Driver 97 to get the win. After the match, the two shook hands before Damon Kemp attacked them from behind and laid Axiom out. It makes sense to get Kemp involved given the fact that he hasn’t really done anything since he split from the Diamond Mine.
Grade: B
Roxanne Perez and Toxic Attraction, Stevie Turner debuts, Charlie Dempsey VS Drew Gulak
Isla Dawn cut another one of her eerie promos, but this time, she had Alba Fyre alongside her. Either Isla is controlling Alba’s mind or the two are genuinely going to be an act now. I predicted that so I’d be more than happy if that’s what it is. Carmelo Hayes then cut a promo about how he is going to beat Apollo Crews whilst Trick Williams seemed a bit worried about Apollo Crews’ vision. We then got a side-by-side interview between Roxanne Perez and Toxic Attraction. Toxic A controlled this interview and every time Roxy tried to speak, she was cut off by either Jacy Jayne or Gigi Dolin. Roxanne Perez then left and both Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin made it clear that they are walking out of Vengeance Day as the new NXT Women’s Champion. From out of nowhere, Roxanne attacked Jayne and Dolin before officials broke them up. I’m intrigued for their match on Saturday, but it’s clear who is walking out as champion. We then got Stevie Turner’s in-ring debut on NXT as she took on Dani Palmer. I felt like Stevie Turner was trying to be a tennis player because she was making a lot of loud noises. I also felt that she didn’t look as good as some of the other women that have come over from NXT UK. However, the two moves she hit to win the match were pretty awesome. Hopefully, she will get stronger as she gets more matches in Orlando.
Grade: C
Kiana James told someone that she loves them (whilst on the phone) and Fallon Henley came up to her and questioned her about it. James said Henley didn’t know what she was talking about before Katana Chance and Kayden Carter questioned their opponents' ability to get along. Fallon and Kiana then said that they will be ready for their clash at Vengeance Day, but as soon as the champs left, Henley told James that this conversation wasn’t over. We then got a match between Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey. Both Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey are excellent technical wrestlers so they worked well together. Hank Walker was on the outside trying to learn from his master and this cost him as when it looked like Dempsey was going to win, Gulak tossed young Regal into Walker and it sent the former Security man crashing to the ground. This then allowed Drew Gulak to pick up the win with a really nice roll-up. Gulak winning makes sense from the standpoint of why would he come down to NXT to lose like he did on the main roster. However, I think NXT has something with Charlie Dempsey and this would’ve been a real statement win for him.
Grade: C+
The New Day Invitational: The Dyad VS Edris Enofe and Malik Blade VS Chase U
The main event saw the Dyad, Edris Enofe and Malik Blade and Chase University battle for their chance to head to Charlotte, North Carolina. Unfortunately, NXT decided to use the stupid 2-men in the ring rule instead of having one from each team in the ring (that works so much better). I actually think that that rule hurt this match as all 3 teams are really good. The Dyad looked particularly impressive with some of their excellent tag team offense whilst Edris Enofe had a great near-fall after hitting a frog splash/elbow drop combo. In the end though, Andre Chase did his rally stomps before Ava Raine got onto the ring apron. Thea Hail then pulled her off and Andre Chase made the tag to Duke Hudson before the two hit their tag team finisher (the Fratliner) to get the victory. After the match, Gallus stood on the podium looking down on them whilst Pretty Deadly were in the entranceway. The New Day then appeared on the screen and they congratulated Chase University on their big win. Even though the Dyad would’ve brought more in terms of in-ring ability, Chase U have been one of the best acts on NXT for a while now and they deserve to get their big moment at Vengeance Day. Whether that match ends with them holding the NXT Tag Team titles is another matter though.