NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee VS Dijak
After a pretty cool opening video package hosted by Charlotte Flair, NXT Vengeance Day kicked off with Wes Lee defending the NXT North American Championship against Dijak. Dijak was on top for a while in this match, but Wes Lee is so athletic, he was able to get back into the fight. Both men brought out all of their big manoeuvres and they both came close to winning the match. As they went to the outside, Dijak trapped Lee in a chair and as he went for a moonsault of the top rope, Tony D’Angelo and Stacks pushed Wes out of the way. This meant that when Dijak got back in the ring, Lee was able to hit his awesome, crazy kick to get the victory. I thought this match was superb. I fully expected Lee to lose quite convincingly so for him to look like an awesome babyface and pick up the win is a big deal. It’s a slight shame that Dijak didn’t win the belt, but I’m sure his day will come. A great way to start the show.
Grade: B+
NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships: Katana Chance and Kayden Carter VS Fallon Henley and Kiana James
The second match had a tough job following the superb opener, but I thought the KC’s, Fallon Henley and Kiana James all did a good job. Chance and Carter are maybe the greatest women’s tag team ever (them or the IIconics) because they act like a genuine team and their double-team manoeuvres are great to watch. Kiana James and Fallon Henley attempted to get on top a few times, but their lack of communication skills kept costing them. All four women brought something to this match and when Fallon Henley rolled up Kayden Carter, Kiana James held onto the champion’s legs (without anyone knowing) to win tag team gold. I was amazed at this, I thought Wes Lee winning was a surprise, but that was nothing compared to this. I have to assume that Chance and Carter are going up to the main roster as otherwise, this was a strange decision. I don’t mind it though and I’m looking forward to seeing how Henley reacts when she finds out the reason why they won.
Grade: C+
Apollo Crews VS Carmelo Hayes: 2-Out-Of-3 Falls Match
Both Apollo Crews and Carmelo Hayes got special entrances, but unfortunately, they ended up turning out to be better than the match itself. It started off pretty slowly and Carmelo Hayes seemed to be struggling with something pretty quickly. The match did pick up a bit as Melo picked up the first fall after Crews tapped out and even though Apollo hit loads of his big moves, he just couldn’t get Hayes out for the count of 3. Trick Williams then jumped onto the apron before he was brought down by the formally known Commander Azeez (that was in Crews’ vision Tuesday). However, it didn’t seem to help Crews too much as Hayes dropped the former Intercontinental Champion before he picked up the victory with the “Nothin but Net”. After the match, Dabba Kato dropped his former friend onto a chair with a chokeslam. I feel like Apollo is really struggling at the moment. He’s fought 3 of NXT’s biggest stars on the last 3 PLE and all three matches were pretty disappointing. This was also probably the weakest Carmelo Hayes match I’ve seen in a long time, but him winning 2-0 does make him come across as unbeatable.
Grade: C+
NXT Tag Team Championships: The New Day VS Pretty Deadly VS Gallus VS Chase University
The NXT Tag Team Championships were then on the line as the New Day defended against Pretty Deadly, Gallus and Chase University. The first part of the match saw every team beat up Pretty Deadly and you could really tell that the crowd were into the New Day. They also seemed quite into Chase University as both Andre Chase and Duke Hudson got nice reactions when they got into the ring. The longer the match went on, the more chaotic it got. It got to the point where nobody knew who was legal and all 8 men were taken out after a superplex to the outside. Andre Chase made sure to get his Chase U stomps in and I genuinely think that received the loudest reaction of the entire night. However, Gallus were able to put Duke Hudson through the announce table whilst Pretty Deadly hit Spilt Milk on Kofi Kingston. Xavier Woods then knocked both members of PD to the outside before Gallus hit their finisher to pick up the win. I enjoyed this match, I thought it was a lot of fun. Even though Gallus were the least popular team in this match, they were probably the right team to pick as the new NXT Tag Team Champions. The New Day and Pretty Deadly can go to the main roster whilst Chase U will continue to tell excellent stories.
Grade: B
NXT Women’s Championship: Roxanne Perez VS Jacy Jayne VS Gigi Dolin
The NXT Women’s Championship was then on the line as Roxanne Perez faced a tough task against Toxic Attraction’s Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin. Gigi and Jacy worked well together in the beginning, but eventually they ended up costing each other the gold. Both women had moments where they looked like they were going to win the NXT Women’s Championship (including Jayne hitting a Mandy Rose-like Knee), but their tag team partner kept pulling them off the cover. Roxanne Perez was able to take advantage of this as she hit Pop Rox to Gigi Dolin on the outside before she sent her crashing through the table. She then hit a super Pop Rox from the top rope to pin Jacy Jayne and retain the NXT Women’s Championship. I didn’t think this match was particularly great. It felt quite messy at parts and there are two things I really learned in this match. The first one is that nobody likes Jacy Jayne, but she’s actually pretty decent in the ring. The second thing I learned is everyone loves Gigi Dolin, but she isn’t very good in the ring. I don’t really know what’s left for Toxic Attraction in NXT and I’m hoping that Roxanne Perez will get tougher tests in the future (Zoey Stark, Tiffany Stratton).
Grade: C
NXT Championship Steel Cage Match: Bron Breakker VS Grayson Waller
The main event of NXT Vengeance Day saw Bron Breakker put his NXT Championship on the line against Grayson Waller inside a Steel Cage. Both men got special entrances (Waller’s was particularly good) and before Bron was able to get into the ring, Waller attacked him. This didn’t work out too well for the Arrogant Aussie as when they got in the cage, Breakker was on top. The NXT Champion was definitely more on top in this match, but Waller is a smart heel so he was able to get back into the match by using Breakker’s urgency against him. Waller came close to winning with his elbow drop and he had to do a modified stunner due to the fact that he couldn’t roll out of the ring (I’d be complaining about that if I was him). In the end though, Waller’s attempt at a “Viral Moment” didn’t work and it ended up seeing him get met with two spears to see Breakker retain his championship. Again, I didn’t particularly enjoy this match. A steel cage match played into Breakker’s arsenal and getting rid of the escaping the cage rule all but told everyone who was going to win this match. Also, the crowd were loud for certain matches and superstars. Bron Breakker was not one of those people. However, Carmelo Hayes coming out at the end of the show is promising as that story has been quietly building for about a year and a half now.
