NXT
Date: March 25, 2025
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

We’re getting very close to Stand & Deliver and that means it’s time to start putting the show together. There is a good chance that we’ll see some more of the matches set up this week, though first both women’s titles are on the line as Stephanie Vaquer is defending twice. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video looks at Stephanie Vaquer’s attempts to defend both of her titles in one night, which isn’t something you often see attempted, let alone done.

Women’s Title: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jaida Parker

Vaquer is defending and gets slammed down as Booker talks about his two TV Title defenses at Superbrawl VIII (not quite). Parker shrugs off a wristlock and slams her down before they trade rollups for two each. A hurricanrana sends Parker into the corner but she drops Vaquer as we take a break.

Back with Parker hitting a Backstabber for two but Vaquer knocks her into the ropes. The 619 sets up the figure four necklock faceplants. The STB is broken up though and Parker plants her with a Falcon Arrow for two. Parker’s hip attack connects in the corner but here is Jordynne Grace for a distraction. That’s enough for Vaquer to roll her up and retain at 9:24.

Rating: C+. Parker isn’t the most experienced star just yet but she has a certain swagger to her that you either have or you don’t. That’s one of those things that can take you a long way and now it seems that she is going to be doing something with Grace. Good enough opener here, even though Vaquer seemed to be saving some of herself for later, which is fine.

Post match Parker and Grace have to be held apart. Cue Fatal Influence to jump Parker and leave her laying.

Trick Williams still doesn’t want to hear from Je’Von Evans, saying there’s a difference between having potential and having a title. Evans is ready to prove him wrong.

Meta Four want to know why they’re not getting a TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles and get in an argument with Tatum Paxley/Gigi Dolin, who do have such a shot this week.

Earlier today, there was a sitdown interview with Ricky Saints, who thinks people are having trouble dealing with his self confidence. For awhile he had to live in his car and the only thing he had was his self confidence, which helped get him here. Then Shawn Spears interrupted, saying that Saints’ confidence is driving people crazy. Spears has friends, but Saints says that’s how he won the North American Title. Spears suggests that Saints can always go somewhere else if it doesn’t work out, but then brings up all of the burned bridges. Saints: “I guess I better win then.”

Ethan Page runs his mouth and gets into it with Andre Chase, who talks about teaching the younger people about how to deal with people like Page. Insults ensue as Chase sounded like his old self.

The Motor City Machine Guns give Hank And Talk a quick pep talk.

Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont vs. Hank And Tank

Wes Lee is here with the villains. We’re joined in progress with everything breaking down and Hank And Tank hammering away in the corners. A camel clutch/running dropkick combination gets two on DuPont before a suicide dive hits Igwe on the floor. Back in and Igwe stomps on Hank’s arm and DuPont plants him down for two. The full nelson is broken up and it’s back to Tank to clean house. Tank plants Igwe for two but Lee offers a distraction meaning it’s the Heartstopper to finish Hank at 6:25.

Rating: C+. Igwe and DuPont are getting some more exposure as of late and that’s the kind of thing that can give them some better hope in the future. I’m not sure I can imagine them doing much of note anytime soon, but it’s better than nothing. Hank And Tank still don’t have much going on, but that has been the case for a good while now.

Stephanie Vaquer insists that she can face Fallon Henley tonight, despite Ava being worried.

Fraxiom has another of their mini arguments about Axiom not inviting Nathan Frazer to Spain. Oba Femi arrives and Axiom leaves.

Heritage Cup: Je’Von Evans vs. Lexis King

Evans is challenging and grabs a headlock to start. That’s reversed into a headscissors before a belly to back suplex drops Evans. Back up and a high crossbody gives Evans two and a suicide dive sends King into the announcers’ table. We take a break and come back with King hitting a fisherman’s driver for two, with the kickout leaving King frustrated.

Evans knocks him down and hits a frog splash (with some height) for two of his own but King goes after the bad jaw. A running shot sends King outside though and Evans nails a heck of a dive. Cue Oba Femi to take Evans down though and King retains the cup via countout at 10:43.

Rating: C. The ending keeps the Cup with King, even through some shenanigans, and that’s the best thing for him at the moment. This wasn’t so much King cheating as much as King capitalizing on someone going into business for themselves. Evans vs. Femi could be a fun David vs. Goliath match, but Trick Williams seems to be the next challenger for the title.

Post match Dark State is teased but Femi goes after Evans again. Trick Williams comes in for the save but has to be held back from Femi.

Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley vs. Meta Four

Dolin and Jackson lock up to start as Zaria and Sol Ruca are here to watch. Dolin sends her into the corner for a running shot from Paxley. A reverse surfboard has Jackson in trouble it’s off to Legend to take over. Paxley gets slammed for two but it’s a quick tag back to Dolin, who hits a high crossbody on both villains. Granted it was near their legs but close enough. Everything breaks down and the Cemetery Drive finishes Jackson at 3:58.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time here and it took away what they could do. There was no reason to have Dolin and Paxley lose just before their title shot on Thursday so at least they have some momentum. Zaria and Ruca didn’t do anything here but there is a good chance that they’ll wind up facing Meta Four at some point in the future.

Tony D’Angelo wants information on the Dark State. The Family goes to find it when Stacks is asked to stay. D’Angelo brings up saving Stacks when he was a kid, which Stacks will never forget. D’Angelo: “I can always trust you, right?” Stacks: “You can always trust me T, always.” I’m sure.

The Motor City Machine Guns tells Hank And Tank to stay with it. Trust your partners and don’t compare yourselves to the Guns, because they’ve been a team for a long time.

Ethan Page vs. Andre Chase

Ricky Saints comes out to join commentary, which Page doesn’t like. Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors are here with Chase, who doesn’t want them doing the Chase U pose. Chase tries some early rollups to start and grabs a headlock. That’s reversed into a belly to back suplex but Chase sends him to the floor and adds a superkick from the apron.

We take a break and come back with Chase grabbing a swinging neckbreaker into the Russian legsweep. The Spelling Stomps are blocked but Chase knocks him down for two more. Page is back with an Iconoclasm into a Codebreaker for two of his own but Chase neckbreakers him on the apron. A tornado DDT gives Chase two, only for Chase to crotch him on top. The super powerslam gives Page two, followed by the Twisted Grin to pin Chase at 9:58.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one as Chase continues to be a likable guy no matter what he is doing. I could go for his story taking a bigger step forward, but you can see the old version of him still alive inside there. Page vs. Saints is likely going to be a big showdown at Stand & Deliver, which is a good way to get Saints on the biggest show of the year.

Post match Saints looks up at Page but Shawn Spears and the Culling jump him.

Dark State says when they strike, no one is safe.

We get a clip of the debut of Stephanie’s Places.

Trick Williams calls Je’Von Evans a distraction, just like Eddy Thorpe. He wants Oba Femi next week and calls Dark State none of his business.

Women’s North American Title: Fallon Henley vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Henley, with the rest of Fatal Influence, is challenging and drives Vaquer into the corner to start. Vaquer fights up and hits a running dropkick for an early two. A superkick sends Henley into the ropes but she’s back up with a knockdown as we take a break. Back with Henley hitting a running forearm and kicking Vaquer between the shoulders.

Vaquer catches her on top with a superplex and Eat Defeat staggers Henley again. The running knees connect in the corner but Henley rolls through a rollup attempt. Henley throws her outside for a cheap shot from Jazmyn Nyx but Vaquer sends Henley into Nyx for the knockdown. The SVB retains the title at 10:03.

Rating: C+. I was a bit surprised that Vaquer didn’t lose one of her titles here but doing the whole two title defenses in one night is a nice feather in her non-existent cap. Henley gets her rematch and is cleared out so now we can move on to another challenger. It wasn’t a particularly good match, but you can see how far Henley has come in the last few months.

Post match Fatal Influence beats Vaquer down but Jordynne Grace makes the save. Grace teases challenging Vaquer but here is Jaida Parker to jump Grace, only to be cleared out again.

A bunch of women plead their case for a future shot at Vaquer and Ava doesn’t get to make an announcement.

Vaquer and Grace have one more staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show that wasn’t so much about the wrestling but rather moving the pieces around on the way to Stand & Deliver. The show might not have anything announced yet, but you can probably guess some of the matches that are coming on the show. That is a big deal and this was the kind of show that you need on the way there. I’m looking forward to seeing those matches coming together, as there is just enough time left to still add a few surprises.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b. Jaida Parker – Rollup
Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont b. Hank And Tank – Heartstopper to Hank
Lexis King b. Je’Von Evans via countout
Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley b. Meta Four – Cemetery Drive to Jackson
Ethan Page b. Andre Chase – Twisted Grin
Stephanie Vaquer b. Fallon Henley – SVB

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: February 6, 2025
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

We are just over a week away from Vengeance Day, which is going to be the night of the triple threats. Last week it was announced that both NXT Champion Oba Femi and Women’s Champion Giulia will defend their titles in triple threat matches, which makes things more interesting. Other than that, we have to fill out the rest of the card so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Jacy Jayne vs. Stephanie Vaquer

The rest of Fatal Influence is here with Jayne. Vaquer wrestles her down without much effort before sending Jayne face first into the buckle. Some facewashes in the corner have Jayne in more trouble and they go outside. Fallon Henley gets in a cheap shot and we take an early break. Back with Vaquer putting her on top for a superplex and hitting some running knees in the corner. Jayne’s knee to the face gets two and, after Jazmyn Nyx’s interference fails, the SVB finishes Jayne at 11:21.

Rating: C. Take a challenger, have her beat the champion’s friend on the way to the title match. That’s as simple as you can get and it worked out well here. Vaquer is on the way to a big time title match and very well could wind up becoming the new champion. This was a good way to build her up and it worked out well.

Various women argue over recent losses.

Oba Femi is ready for A-Town Down Under tonight and he doesn’t owe Trick Williams a thing.

Here is Lexis King for a chat. He can’t be humble when he is on the path to becoming the biggest star in wrestling history. King plays by his own drums and why wouldn’t he? The King’s blood doesn’t run with that of a normal person and he wanted to be anything but his father. He has felt at his best when he is being his father’s son and the reality is the Heritage Cup has been mistreated. Therefore, he is now going to get rid of the old rules and turn title matches into regular one on one matches, one fall to a finish.

Cue Fandango (TNA’s JDC) of all people, who talks about how weird he got around here. They insult each other and he introduces himself as JDC (despite the Fandango music/graphics) before saying the title match is set for next week. Fandango coming back is a nice moment, but he’s still not the biggest TNA name to come over as part of the crossover.

Tony D’Angelo is in the CW series Wild Cards and the Family is excited. Except Stacks, who says this is what D’Angelo is doing but he doesn’t have time for them. D’Angelo tells him to worry about Ridge Holland tonight.

Ridge Holland vs. Stacks

The rest of the D’Angelo Family is here with Stacks, who jumps Holland before the bell. Holland snaps off an overhead belly to belly suplex and sends Stacks outside for a ram into the steps. Stacks’ Codebreaker doesn’t get him very far as Holland grabs a belly to belly suplex. Izzi Dame’s distraction lets Stacks grab two but the Redeemer finishes Stacks at 3:44.

Rating: C. Much like the opener, they kept this to the point and didn’t try to do anything weird here. What matters the most is having Holland look strong, likely on the way to a title match with Tony D’Angelo. Stacks is still having issues with his boss and that could make for an interesting situation down the line.

Fraxiom is interrupted by Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura, who say they could win the Tag Team Titles in their one show. Fraxiom isn’t overly impressed.

Zaria/Sol Ruca vs. Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley

Ruca and Paxley start things off with an exchange of quickly broken headlocks. A faceplant puts Paxley down and it’s quickly off to Zaria vs. Dolin. Everything breaks down and Ruca gets dropkicked, allowing Paxley to drop a backsplash for two. Paxley gets underneath Ruca and lifts her up for a choke (that’s a new one) before handing it off to Dolin for a twisting Swanton. Ruca manages to headscissor her way to freedom though and it’s off to Zaria to clean house. Everything breaks down and Ruca gets shoved into Zaria but Zaria pulls Paxley out of the air. The F5 drops Paxley onto Dolin and the Sol Snatcher finishes at 4:22.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure what happened with Zaria but it feels like she came in on fire and then just fell through the cracks. This doesn’t feel like a major feud as she’s just kind of thrown into a tag team with Ruca. The match was energetic but it doesn’t feel like something that matters all that much.

We look at some NXT women in the Royal Rumble.

Trick Williams hasn’t seen Oba Femi tonight but the game plan is to show that he deserves the Vengeance Day title shot.

Here are Bayley, Roxanne Perez and Giulia for a chat. Well hold on as Perez wants to talk about her success in the Royal Rumble, where she broke Perez’s longevity record. Bayley cuts her off, talking about how she built the first ring in this arena with her bare hands. In this arena, Dusty Rhodes taught her how to hold a microphone. Bayley is fine, but what happens if Perez doesn’t win at Vengeance Day? Perez threatens to win all of the titles but here is Giulia to say she’ll keep the title.

Cue Charlotte to interrupt, saying Mama is home. This will always be her home and the last time she won the Women’s Royal Rumble, she cashed in and won the NXT Women’s Title. Perez had a nice performance at the Royal Rumble but she’ll finish second place again if she faces Charlotte. Giulia, the hype is real but Charlotte is still better. Oh and she’ll beat Bayley too. Cue Cora Jade to clear the ring, with Charlotte glaring at them. While I can’t imagine Charlotte coming after the NXT Women’s Title, it’s nice to see them teasing it.

Ava has Je’Von Evans and Ethan Page held apart. Evans is suspended, but Page would rather they face each other at Vengeance Day. Ava makes the match, if Evans can get cleared.

Josh Briggs gets a tag match with Hank and Tank next week.

Ridge Holland comes up to the D’Angelo Family and wants a North American Title match. The solution? A cage match.

Kelani Jordan vs. Karmen Petrovic

They shove each other around to start and Petrovic’s arm doesn’t work very well as Jordan powers her into the corner. The armbar goes on again but Jordan is sent outside and takes out Ashante Thee Adonis. Back in and a springboard DDT gives Petrovic two as we take an early break.

We come back with Jordan knocking her down and nipping up as Jaida Parker is watching from ringside. Petrovic strikes away and gets two off some clotheslines. Back up and Jordan knocks her down, setting up a pair of One Of A Kinds. A glare at Parker and a choke finish Petrovic at 10:20.

Rating: C. This Adonis/Petrovic stuff just isn’t interesting and it’s getting worse every week. I’m not sure what the appeal is supposed to be and while Jordan is getting somewhere, the other two are kind of there. Parker and Jordan could be an interesting feud for both though, as Parker continues to rise up the ranks.

Post match Jordan keeps up the choke and the result is reversed.

Stephanie Vaquer is coming for the Women’s North American Title and isn’t worried about Fatal Influence.

Bayley gets Cora Jade next week.

Fraxiom is ready for either Hank And Tank or Yoshiki Inamura/Josh Briggs.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

A-Town Down Under are ready to team tonight but then argue over who will be the next NXT Champion.

Vengeance Day rundown.

Oba Femi/Trick Williams vs. A-Town Down Under

Williams tags himself in to start so Theory fires off some shoulders in the corner. Femi isn’t pleased and Theory’s rolling dropkick to Williams makes it even worse. Williams chops his way out of trouble and hits a hard slam before it’s off to Femi for a harder slam. Femi and Williams keep arguing though, with Femi pulling him to the floor. A dive takes the good guys out and we take a break.

Back with a jumping knee to the face and rolling neckbreaker putting Williams down for two. Femi gets knocked off the apron so Williams has no one to tag after he jawbreaks his way out of a chinlock. A pop up right hand gives Williams a needed breather, allowing the tag off to Femi for a double Samoan drop. Williams tags himself back in and hits a spinning kick to Waller’s head for two. Cue Eddy Thorpe with a strap to Williams, allowing Waller to hit a rolling jumping Downward Spiral for the pin at 12:08.

Rating: C+. This was exactly what it was supposed to be with Femi and Williams not getting along, though I’m still not sure what appeal Thorpe is supposed to have. The guy isn’t overly interesting and yet he’s still in the main event scene no matter what. Other than that, you have Femi being ready to crush the annoying villains, which is how things should go.

Post match the whipping continues.

We get the test pattern again but this time it transitions into four people in the shadows to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event picked it up a bit but I’m not feeling Vengeance Day so far. Maybe it’s the two triple threats on top but there isn’t much about the show that is making me overly interested. This week’s show didn’t help very much and I’m still not exactly thrilled with what we’re going to be seeing. Femi continues to look like a monster and his match with Williams is likely going to be headlining Stand & Deliver, but we’ve got something else to get through first. Not a terrible show here, but not something that hooked me.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b.. Jacy Jayne – SVB
Ridge Holland b. Stacks – Redeemer
Zaria/Sol Ruca b. Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley – Sol Snatcher to Dolin
Karmen Petrovic b. Kelani Jordan via DQ
A-Town Down Under b. Oba Femi/Trick Williams – Rolling jumping Downward Spiral to Williams

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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NXT
Date: January 28, 2025
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

We are closing in on Vengeance Day and that means it is time to start putting the card together. For some reason the big draw this week is NXT Champion Oba Femi appearing on the Grayson Waller Effect, which was presented as a bigger deal than the NXT Title match last week. Hopefully they have something good planned so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Giulia/Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade

The villains try to jump them to start but are quickly knocked to the floor. We settle down to Giulia and Perez trading rollups for two each until Perez is dragged over to the corner. Jade comes in to yell at Bayley, who drops her with a clothesline for two. Perez sends Bayley and Giulia to the floor for some dives and we take an early break.

Back with everyone down before Bayley Stuns Jade over the middle rope. A cheap shot cuts Bayley off the top though and double teaming ensues as the referee holds Giulia back. Perez mocks Bayley’s old wave before charging into a belly to back suplex to give Bayley a breather. The Bayley To Belly allows the tag off to Giulia, who sends Perez flying with a suplex. Jade accidentally runs Perez over with a forearm for two as everything breaks down again. Giulia drops Jade and Bayley hits the top rope elbow for the pin at 12:59.

Rating: B-. Nice opener here as Bayley feels like the biggest star around here, just due to her legendary status. It helps that NXT can get bigger names from the main roster here and if Bayley can do something for NXT, it’s all the better. The match itself was good action, though Jade taking the fall felt like a matter of time more than anything else.

Eddy Thorpe insists he isn’t done and will make his mark in NXT.

It’s time for the Grayson Waller Effect and hometown boy Austin Theory is rather popular until Grayson Waller cuts them off. Waller brings out Oba Femi as the guest and praises him, only for Theory to say he doesn’t see their potential. Femi brings up that he is the only one of them to be NXT Champion but Theory talks about how Femi is going to get to the main roster and then wind up on the indies selling t-shirts. Femi asks where their titles are and offers them a title shot at Vengeance Day. Waller tries to accept but here is Ava to say she makes the matches. Cue Trick Williams, who is planted with the Fall From Grace.

Izzi Dame says there is nothing going on with her and the D’Angelo Family. She helped D’Angelo keep the NXT Title because neither of them like Shawn Spears. Cue Ridge Holland to yell at her but Stacks cuts that off.

Trick Williams vs. Wes Lee

Williams is still banged up and Lee has Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont with him. Lee wastes no time in knocking Williams, with his bad ribs, into the corner. More shots to the back keep Williams in trouble but he pulls Lee’s high crossbody out of the air. The back gives out but Williams knocks him hard to the floor. A Meteora from the apron sends Williams into the announcers’ table though and we take a break.

Back with Williams kicking his way out of a half crab and dropping Lee with a shot to the face. The Trick Shot is loaded up but Igwe pulls Lee to the floor in time. Back in and Lee is launched over the top onto the other two and Williams unloads in the corner. The referee is finally thrown down and Williams is DQ’ed at 10:10.

Rating: C+. This was more about making Williams look intense and that worked out well. There is a very, very good chance that we are coming up on Williams vs. Oba Femi at Stand & Deliver and Williams is going to have to get warmed up on his way there. Beating up Lee is a good way to get started there and this was a nice way to make Williams feel serious.

Post match Williams grabs a chair and the ring is cleared out in a hurry.

Ava yells at Oba Femi for overstepping his bounds before making Femi vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller in a triple threat at Vengeance Day.

Post break Ava yells at Trick Williams and makes him/Femi vs. A-Town Down Under next week.

Women’s North American Title: Shotzi vs. Fallon Henley

Henley, with Fatal Influence, is defending so Shotzi has Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley to even things out. Shotzi grabs a hurricanrana to start and a wheelbarrow faceplant gets an early two. Henley bails to the floor so Shotzi hits a big dive and the other four brawl to the back. Shotzi’s kick only hits the post though and Henley takes the leg out as we take a break.

Back with Shotzi hitting an inverted cannonball but Henley grabs a hair faceplant. A stretch muffler is broken up and Shotzi’s Sliced Bread gets two. Shotzi crushes her with a top rope backsplash for two but another Sliced Bread is broken up. Something like a reverse explodes drops Shotzi and the Hoedown (Fameasser) retains the title at 10:15.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, other than Henley’s finisher is called the Hoedown, just in case you wanted her to be treated as a serious star. I have no idea how that was the best name they had, but for now Henley gets to hang onto the title. That being said, I can’t imagine Henley holding the title past Vengeance Day when Stephanie Vaquer likely gets a title shot.

Post match Stephanie Vaquer comes out for the staredown and the title match is official for Vengeance Day.

Kelani Jordan and Karmen Petrovic argue over Ashante Thee Adonis.

Ava makes Giulia vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez for the Women’s Title at Vengeance Day. Perez approves, Cora Jade doesn’t.

Ethan Page vs. Cedric Alexander

Alexander starts fast and hammers away to choke Page in the corner. A dropkick puts Page down again but he goes after the bad fingers for a needed breather. The covering is taken off of the bad hand and Page sends it into the post as we take a break. Back with Alexander fighting back and grabbing a modified Koji Clutch. That’s broken up with a grab of the bad hand and Page breaks up a handspring. The Twist Of Fate finishes Alexander at 11:12.

Rating: C. I’m starting to get into this more angry and aggressive Page as it is starting to make him stand out a bit more. What matters the most here is that Page continues to look like a monster and that is likely going to lead to a showdown with Je’Von Evans at Vengeance Day. Page has gone from little more than a generic villain to something more interesting and that is nice to see.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Je’Von Evans runs in for the save.

Fatal Influence is ready for Stephanie Vaquer.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Josh Briggs gives Yoshiki Inamura his own vest so they can match.

Vengeance Day rundown.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Meta Four vs. Naomi/Bianca Belair

Naomi and Belair are defending. Jackson takes Naomi down to start but gets caught in a wristlock to slow things down. An exchange of rollups gets two each and it’s off to Belair for a Paisan Elbow. Legend comes in to face Belair and the fans definitely approve. A headscissors is countered into a swinging backbreaker to drop Belair and Legend’s running moonsault gets two as we take a break.

Back with Naomi being sent into the corner but we cut to Cora Jade yelling at Ava backstage. Naomi gets over to Belair for a needed tag and house is quickly cleaned. The handspring moonsault gives Belair two but everything breaks down. Belair is sent outside for a dive from Jackson and the wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter gets two on Naomi. Legend’s powerbomb is countered into an X Factor for a needed breather but Jackson gets a VERY near fall (with the fans booing it being called two and commentary calling it out). A quick KOD retains the titles at 12:58.

Rating: B. I’ve been rather critical of Legend but sweet goodness has she come a LONG way in the last year or so. She has gone from horrible to a heck of a powerhouse and she feels like a star. The ending felt like it could be moving somewhere later on, but for now, Belair and Naomi getting a hard fought win is nice to see.

We get a test pattern saying WWE TRANSMISSION but those words are deleted and VENGEANCE DAY comes up instead.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a weird show, as they set up a bunch of stuff for Vengeance Day but I can’t quite get behind a lot of what we are going to be seeing. There are multiple triple threats and those matches are only so interesting. The show itself was decent and some people were showing good fire, though I’m less interested in Vengeance Day than I was coming into this week. That’s not a good sign, but there is still time to make it better.

Results
Giulia/Bayley b. Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade – Top rope elbow to Jade
Wes Lee b. Trick Williams via DQ when Williams shoved the referee
Fallon Henley b. Shotzi – Hoedown
Ethan Page b. Cedric Alexander – Twist Of Fate
Bianca Belair/Naomi b. Meta Four – KOD to Jackson

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

Remember to check out Wrestlingrumors.net for all of your wrestling headline needs.

NXT
Date: January 7, 2025
Location: Shrine Expo Hall, Los Angeles, California
Commentators: Vic Joseph Booker T., Corey Graves

It’s the first show of the year, it’s New Year’s Evil, and the Rock is going to be here. The last part was added last night and that should be enough to make for an extra special evening. I have no idea what he is going to do this week but there is a good chance it will have something to do with Ava. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Corey Graves is back on commentary. They had to do something with him and I guess he’s the odd man out with Wade Barrett and Joe Tessitore on Smackdown.

Women’s Title: Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez

Perez is defending and starts with a slap to the face but Giulia takes her into the corner for a forearm to the face. A dropkick connects but Perez is back with a crank on the arm as we take an early break. Back with an exchange of forearms but Perez goes after the arm to take over again.

Booker and Graves get into it as Giulia wins a strike off, only to get sent outside. Back in and Giulia grabs a butterfly superplex into a spinning over the shoulder piledriver for two. Perez’s crossface is broken up and Pop Rox is blocked. They fight to the floor where Perez gets caught in a northern lights bomb, only for Cora Jade to run in and toss Perez back inside. Pop Rox connects for two but Giulia knees her in the face and hits the northern lights bomb for the title at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This was a good bit shorter than I was expecting as it was treated like some epic showdown but only got a little over eleven minutes. Jade interfering like last time was a fine call back, but there was pretty much no chance Giulia was losing twice in a row. Giulia needed to win the title as there is a good chance she isn’t going to be in NXT long term, so get something out of her while you can.

Eddy Thorpe has been attacked but Ava isn’t convinced.

We look at Ethan Page attacking Je’Von Evans and injuring his jaw.

Evans can barely speak and is out of action.

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice vs. Cora Jade

For a future women’s North American Title match. They trade rollups to start until Jordan breaks up Vice’s choke and throws some dropkicks. Jordan’s dive to the floor takes Vice out but Jade drops her as well as we take a break. Back with Vaquer hitting some running knees in the corner to Jade but Vice is back up to kick Jordan into the corner. Vaquer hits a big dive to the floor but Jordan dives onto all three of them. Back in and Jordan misses a splash, allowing Vaquer to hit the STP for the pin on Jordan at 9:18.

Rating: C+. This was fast paced and they kept it interesting, which is the best thing that you can do in a match like this one. Vaquer moving into the title picture should mean that Fallon Henley’s days as champion are numbered but stranger things have happened. For now though, it’s a nice win for Vaquer, who continues her strong start around here.

Ava puts the Unholy Union into a #1 contenders match for the Women’s Tag Team Titles match next week. Oba Femi comes in and isn’t worried about Eddy Thorpe, who is still in the title match.

HHH and Nick Khan are here.

Video on OTM, who are ready for the Tag Team Titles.

Fatal Influence vs. Shotzi/Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley

Fatal Influence jumps them during the entrances to start fast and it’s Paxley getting beaten down as we settle down. Jayne gets sent into the ropes for some running hip attacks to the back before Henley gets take down as well. Everything breaks down and Shotzi misses a dive at Henley.

We take a break and come back with Jayne dropping a backsplash for two on Paxley, setting up a chinlock. Dolin comes in to hammer away on Jayne, who manages a needed superkick. A belly to back suplex/neckbreaker combination drops Henley, leaving Dolin and Paxley to hit dives. Welcome To The Ball Pit finishes Henley at 10:15.

Rating: C. This was the usual six woman tag with everyone moving around and no one really getting to showcase themselves. Shotzi possibly sets her up for a title shot though that won’t work so well with Stephanie Vaquer already earning a title shot. Other than that, Fatal Influence losing again isn’t a great sign for their future, which already wasn’t looking bright.

Ava yells at Ethan Page for injuring Je’Von Evans….and the Rock is here. Rock says payback will be trouble, and while he’s the Final Boss, around here, Ava is the boss. With Page gone, Rock asks Ava for advice on what to say out there. She’s sure he’ll figure it out. How does Ava feel so unnatural talking to her own father?

Heritage Cup: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

Dempsey is defending and this is under sudden death rules, with no rounds or clock, meaning the Heritage Cup part is basically non-existent. They run the ropes to start and Dempsey pulls him down to work on the arm early on. Back up and King fights away and cranks on the arm as well. A dropkick sends Dempsey out to the floor and a dive drops him again as we take a break.

Back with King getting two off a northern lights suplex but Dempsey goes right back after the arm. An armbar goes on but King powerbombs his way to freedom for two. They ram heads out of the corner before Dempsey tries a leapfrog, only for King to accidentally headbutt him low. The Coronation gives King the title at 11:05.

Rating: C+. When I saw them setting this up, I never was better on seeing a finish lifted from 1996 (where Konnan did the same thing to beat Eddie Guerrero, minus the Coronation). It’s fair enough as we’re coming up on thirty years since that was used and it’s close enough to make you wonder if King did it on purpose. Good enough here, and King can move on to something else for the time being.

Shotzi says she just pinned Fallon Henley so she deserves a title shot. Stephanie Vaquer is already #1 contender, but Ava makes Vaquer vs. Shotzi for the title shot next week.

NXT Title: Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe

Williams is defending. Well at least he’s half defending as Thorpe isn’t here to start. Femi powers him around to start but gets caught in a quick Samoan Driver for two as we take an early break. Back with Femi missing a charge into the post and getting caught with a super Rock Bottom for two.

A neckbreaker and flapjack put Femi down but he gets in a quick chop. The Fall From Grace is broken up so Femi settles for the sitout powerbomb for two with Thorpe showing up to pull the referee. Back up and a Trick Shot gives Williams two on Femi but another hits a chair held up by Thorpe. That’s enough to knock Thorpe outside and leaves Williams to get caught in the Fall From Grace to give Femi the title at 10:45.

Rating: B-. The ending was weird and showed how little Thorpe needed to be involved. Thorpe was little more than a means to an end, which wasn’t the best way to go. Femi winning the title is the right way to go, as there is nothing else for him to do in NXT. It’s either this or he goes to the main roster, and this makes more sense.

Post match Giulia comes out to pose with Femi as the new generation.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Here is the Rock to wrap things up. Rock does his Samoan yell and seems a bit nervous. After hitting some catchphrases, Rock brings up his history with Cody Rhodes, but they were nice together last night. At the end of the day, they should know their roles because he is the Final Boss so enjoy the ride. Rock shrugs off the clock counting him down, swears a bit, and talks about how he was going to come here and wing it.

Last night at the Intuit Dome was the sexy ticket but this place for NXT is the place you want to go to. In three years, the people in the back could be headlining Wrestlemania or be out of the business. What matters is how you react to them and he says he loves the fans to wrap us up. This did feel like he was wining it, which was partially proven because he said pretty much nothing in almost ten minutes. This was “he’s here” and nothing more, which granted is a huge get for NXT, but it would be nice if he actually did, you know, something.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a show which could have been so much better if it was able to fix a few of the issues. By that I mean the Rock, who did not work well here in the slightest. It wasn’t a bad segment, but it was pretty much pointless, which is annoying on a show when you have so much else going on. There was all kinds of stuff taking place this week and most of it was good, but there was just nothing great as a match. Not a bad show, but it was rather uneven throughout.

Results
Giulia b. Roxanne Perez – Northern lights bomb
Stephanie Vaquer b. Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice and Cora Jade – STP to Jordan
Shotzi/Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley b. Fatal Influence – Welcome To The Ball Pit to Henley
Lexis King b. Charlie Dempsey – Coronation
Oba Femi b. Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe – Fall From Grace to Williams

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NXT
Date: December 31, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the last wrestling show of the year (at least around here) and we also have one week to go before New Year’s evil, which has already been set up and now we get to see where things are going. Most of the matches are ready to go and now we are likely in for one more week of building things up. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice

Vice starts fast and pulls her into a chinlock, which is reversed into an armbar. Back up and Vice fires off the kicks, setting up the running hip attack in the corner. We take a break and come back with Vice hitting Two Amigos but taking too long to dance, allowing Jordan to do the dance and take her down instead. Back up and Jordan flips into a choke but manages to get to the ropes. Cue Cora Jade for a distraction though and Jordan gets a bridging rollup for the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C. This was another good example of a match that was hurt by the break in the middle, as probably 40% of it was in the commercial. Other than that, it was Vice doing her strikes and Jordan escaping with gymnastics. I’m not sold on Jordan as a villain yet but I’ll take it over her being rather dull on the other side.

Post match Jade unloads on both of them with the kendo stick but Stephanie Vaquer makes the save. Vice accidentally elbows Vaquer in the face when Jade ducks and panic ensues.

It’s time for the NXT Awards, with Oba Femi vs. Josh Briggs vs. Dijak at Stand & Deliver winning Match Of The Year. Briggs is the only one who gets to talk, but he does thank everyone who “feasted their eyes” on the match.

Video on Giulia, who wants to join the list of NXT Women’s Champions.

Moment Of The Year is…Joe Hendry in NXT. Hendry is grateful and teases another appearance, right before an ad for Raw on Netflix.

Cedric Alexander isn’t happy with Ethan Page attacking Je’Von Evans. A match seems to be set for New Year’s Evil but here is Page to taunt Alexander, triggering a brawl. We’ll do it right now.

Cedric Alexander vs. Ethan Page

Joined in progress with Alexander hammering away before hitting a pair of dropkicks. Another running dropkick to the back of the head gets two and Page is sent outside for a suicide dive. Back in and Page hits his own dropkick for two, setting up the chinlock. Alexander fights up and strikes away, setting up a Michinoku Driver for two of his own. Page pops back up with a big boot into a Twist Of Fate for the pin at 4:26.

Rating: C. Page isn’t about to lose to someone on the level of Alexander and thankfully they didn’t waste a lot of time getting there. Page took out Evans a few weeks ago and needed a win to back it up, which is what he got here. It wasn’t anything great and it didn’t need to be, as Page looking more like his old self was the point.

Post match Page crushes Alexander’s hand in a tool box.

Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee seem to like what Shawn Spears is telling them. Hank and Tank need partners.

Shotzi/Gigi Dolin vs. Meta Four vs. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance

Carter knocks Dolin to the ropes, where Legend tags herself in and puts Dolin on the apron. It’s quickly off to Jackson to suplex Shotzi. Everything breaks down and some running shots have Jackson in more trouble. Carter comes back in for a running boot to put Shotzi on the floor, with Carter and Chance’s dives taking out everyone else. We take a break and come back with Dolin striking away at Legend before Carter comes back in with a basement superkick.

The Keg Stand gets two on Legend with a bunch of people making the save. A belly to back moonsault hits Jackson’s raised knees as everything breaks down. Shotzi tries a dive and lands ON HER HEAD but thankfully she’s up fast enough to get take out by a dive from Jackson. Cue Fatal Influence for a distraction though, allowing Meta Four to hit a wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter combination to finish Dolin at 11:24.

Rating: C-. I really wasn’t feeling this one as it was kind of all over the place with people just doing stuff until even more people interfered to give Meta Four the win. The good thing here is that Shotzi is ok, as that was an absolutely terrifying landing. She was right back up though and I’m not sure how she managed to make that happen without a bad case of broken neck.

Post match the Unholy Union pops up on screen to challenge the Meta Four to a match with title implications.

Lola Vice tries to apologize to Stephanie Vaquer, who is not having it. Kelani Jordan comes in to mock them and everyone has to be pulled apart. Cora Jade is watching when Ava comes in to put her in a four way #1 contenders match next week for a shot at the Women’s North American Title.

Ava is in her office with William Regal, Lexis King and Charlie Dempsey. Apparently the rules aren’t clear if the Heritage Cup can change hands via DQ. Therefore, next week, King vs. Dempsey for the Cup, one fall, sudden death. Regal is having nothing to do with this. There are like five rules for the Cup. How is that not clear? It took them a week to figure this out?

The Tag Team Of The Year is Nathan Frazer and Axiom. Yes, the team who have dominated the tag division and won the titles twice while holding them for over half of the year are in fact the winners.

Frazer and Axiom wouldn’t have it any other way but OTM comes in to say they’re coming for the belts.

Zaria and Sol Ruca are ready.

Sol Ruca vs. Izzi Dame

Zaria is here too. Ruca takes her down with a headlock to start before voiding a charge to send Dame shoulder first into the post. Back up and Dame takes her out of the corner as Shawn Spears is watching from the platform. Ruca fights up with some springboard shoulders and a running X Factor. Dame rolls outside and has to avoid Ruca’s moonsault, which hits Zaria instead. Back up and Dame boots her in the face, setting up a Sky High for the pin at 4:58.

Rating: C. This was more about Ruca and Zaria than anything else and I’m not even sure why they’re having issues. At the same time, Spears being involved isn’t exactly making it more interesting, but this hasn’t been the most thrilling show so far. At least Dame got a win for a change after not exactly doing much for a good while.

Hank and Tank might have a partner for tonight: Andre Chase.

The Female Superstar Of The Year is Roxanne Perez. Again: the woman who dominated the title scene winning is hardly a shock.

Perez isn’t surprised. Neither am I.

Hank And Tank/Andre Chase vs. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee

Chase is looking rather unkempt and is in street clothes. The villains jump them to start and Hank gets caught in the wrong corner. That’s broken up and it’s off to Tank, who is whipped into the corner by Igwe. Everything breaks down and Chase hits a top rope flip dive onto Igwe and DuPont as we take a break.

Back with Hank still in trouble and getting caught with a pop up World’s Strongest Slam. Lee grabs a guillotine choke and a pop up double stomp hits Hank again. Hank fights out and brings in Tank for the house cleaning but quickly hands it off to Chase. Igwe gets knocked down and Chase loads up the spelling stomps but brings Hank back in instead before walking out. That leaves Hank to get hit in the ace, setting up a Stunner to give Igwe the pin at 12:00.

Rating: C. Here we have a storytelling match as Chase is back but can’t do it without it being Chase U. That’s going to create some issues going forward and those should be interesting, but for now this was a bunch of people with nothing else going on having a math where Chase was involved. You can get by with that on occasion, though this show hasn’t exactly been must see so far.

Ashante Thee Adonis calls Karmen Petrovic about New Year’s Eve but gets voicemail, saying he’ll spend it alone if he can’t spend it with her. Nikkita Lyons comes up to invite him to a party but he turns her down.

Shawn Spears praises Izzi Dame but gets turned down. The D’Angelo Family comes in before anything can happen, so Spears implies he’s coming for D’Angelo. With Spears gone, D’Angelo tells the Family to take him out.

Kale Dixon asks Andre Chase about the next semester, but Chase says Chase U is dead. Well that’s a sad way to end the year.

New Year’s Evil rundown.

It’s time to announce the Male Superstar Of The Year but Oba Femi interrupts before anyone is named. Femi says the award doesn’t matter because it’s just a popularity contest. He goes on about how he’s going to win the title because “I am the captain now.” Cue Trick Williams to interrupt, saying he needs to dig deep to retain next week.

Williams calls Femi “Old Beatable Oba”, which is true because otherwise it would be title vs. title. How long is Femi going to leave when he loses this time? Eddy Thorpe runs in to send them into each other and breaks the trophy over Femi’s head. Thorpe holds up the title to end the show. So I guess Femi won, but I don’t think it was ever made clear.

Overall Rating: C-. And that might be generous. This was the definition of a show where they knew it didn’t matter because of the holiday and next week being the big show. The wrestling was mediocre at best and most of the awards were obvious rather than having any drama. Not a good show here, and one of the weaker NXT’s that I can remember in a pretty long time.

Results
Kelani Jordan b. Lola Vice – Bridging rollup
Ethan Page b. Cedric Alexander – Twist Of Fate
Meta Four b. Kayden Carter/Katana Chance and Shotzi/Gigi Dolin – Wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter combination to Dolin
Izzi Dame b. Sol Ruca – Sky High
Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont/Wes Lee b. Hank And Tank/Andre Chase – Stunner to Hank

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NXT
Date: December 24, 2024
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s Christmas Eve and yes we are indeed having a regular NXT rather than some kind of Best Of show or something more traditional like that. We are two weeks away from New Year’s Evil and last week’s main event saw Eddy Thorpe and Trick Williams go to a draw for the NXT Title. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of last week’s title match, plus the fallout after the show with the match being ruled a draw so Trick Williams retains.

Cora Jade vs. Stephanie Vaquer

Vaquer takes her down to start before flipping Jade out of the corner. A quick rollup gets two and Vaquer suplexes her into a figure four necklock. That’s broken up and Vaquer hits a dropkick but Jade Backstabs her out of the corner as we take an early break. Back with Vaquer fighting out of a chinlock and grabbing a belly to back suplex. Eat Defeat sends Jade into the corner for some running knees, followed by something like a standing STF. Jade breaks that up but gets caught in the package backbreaker to give Vaquer the pin at 9:41.

Rating: C. Vaquer is still one of the stronger names in the division and having her go over someone with the status of Jade makes sense. Jade is someone who feels like she is best used as someone’s lackey and that might be her ceiling. She has talent, but I’m not sure if it is going to be used with her as a solo star of any kind.

Post match Kelani Jordan runs in with a kendo stick to go after Jade but Vaquer pulls Jordan off.

The D’Angelo Family want the Tag Team Titles, with Stacks promising to beat the other teams’ faces in like his mother beat up Santa Claus with a broom one Christmas night.

William Regal offers to be in Lexis King’s corner for the Heritage Cup match. Regal has the brass knuckles and that’s an oooo moment.

Heritage Cup: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

King, with William Regal, is challenging. Round One begins with some grappling as King rolls him up for two. A dropkick misses as Booker says King needs to believe in himself like Neo in the Matrix. Dempsey pulls him into an armbar but gets hiptossed down for one. Lexis reverses a cravate into a headlock as the round ends.

Round Two begins with King jumping him in the corner and chops away. A gutwrench suplex drops King for two and King wrestles him down again. Dempsey stays on the back with a half crab but King gets out again. A superkick out of the corner sets up a super sunset flip for two on Dempsey, leaving King frustrated. Dempsey pulls him into something like a bow and arrow as the round ends.

Round Three begins…and ends during a break so we come back with Round Four beginning with King hitting a clothesline. A backbreaker gets two and we hit the chinlock. Some chops into the corner set up a northern lights suplex for two on Dempsey and they trade shots to the face. Regal tries to send in the brass knuckles but King says no, earning himself a shot from Regal to knock him cold. Dempsey picks up the knuckles…and the referee calls it a DQ win for King at 2:53 of the round and 13:32 overall, making King the champion.

Rating: C+. This is the kind of ending that should set up a “did he or didn’t he” ending and it should work well. King has been teasing going the right way but then wins the Cup in something less than a fair way. I like the idea of paying something off on the whole story, though I’m not sure how long this is going to last.

OTM is ready to get the Tag Team Title shot.

We look at Ethan Page injuring Je’Von Evans last week.

Kelani Jordan yells at Stephanie Vaquer but Lola Vice breaks it up. Jordan calls both of them out for always interfering and wants them out of her face.

Unholy Union vs. Fatal Influence

Fallon Henley is here with Fatal Influence. Nyx and Dawn start things off with Dawn shoving her out of the corner. A dropkick has Dawn over to the corner for the tag off to Jayne, who gets chopped by Fyre. Nyx is back in with a running kick to the chest as Kayden Carter and Katana Chance are watching in the crowd. Dawn comes back in for a running knee as Shotzi, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin come out.

We take a break and come back with Dawn being whipped into the corner so Jayne can kick her in the face. The chinlock goes on for a bit before Nyx gets two off a PerfectPlex (Vic: “The plex wasn’t perfect enough!”). Dawn kicks her way out of trouble and hands it off to Fyre as Carter and Chance are now at ringside. Fyre cleans house with a bunch of kicks and a gordbuster as everything breaks down. Fyre and Jayne headbutt each other own as a fight breaks out at ringside. Dolin uses the distraction to shove Jayne off the top so the Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination can give Dawn the pin at 12:47.

Rating: C. This felt like it was designed to set up some big team match down the line, which isn’t the most thrilling thing but there are so many women in NXT that they have to do something like this here. Fatal Influence being in trouble when the numbers are even (or worse) makes sense as the numbers game has been their thing since their inception. The match wasn’t anything great, but it is probably a step in a bigger story.

The No Quarter Catch Crew is ready for the #1 contenders match.

Izzi Dame interrupts Sol Ruca and Zaria but Shawn Spears and company cut them off. Dame tells them to leave her alone.

Dion Lennox vs. Ashante Thee Adonis

Adonis punches him down to start and hammers away against the ropes. Nikkita Lyons comes out to watch as Lennox reveres a neckbreaker into a backslide for two. An elbow to the ace gives Adonis two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Lennox slugs away, setting up a spinebuster and powerslam for two, with Lyons putting the foot on the ropes. Lennox is so annoyed that he gets rolled up for the pin at 5:10.

Rating: C-. The problem with this match comes down to one thing: the story isn’t interesting. I get the whole idea they’re going for but it’s really hard to care about anything going on. It feels like this story that has been going on for months now and I still have no reason to care about anyone involved. That makes a not so good match even harder to care about and that was an issue here.

Hang And Tank are ready for the four way tag match.

Shotzi, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin run into Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. The Meta Four come in to mock them all.

We get a profile on Roxanne Perez, who brags about her accomplishments and how she has overcome various issues. Maybe only people like Simone Biles and Caitlyn Clark can understand her greatness. She’s ready for Giulia in two weeks. Somehow I don’t see that happening.

Lexis King is happy with his win and cuts off the interviewer before she can ask about William Regal.

Ethan Page is happy with what he did to Je’Von Evans last week. He found his smile by taking Evans’.

D’Angelo Family vs. OTM vs. Hank And Tank vs. No Quarter Catch Crew

For a Tag Team Title shot and it’s tornado rules. Hank and Tank swing Christmas trees to start but get blasted by a fire extinguisher. Nima cleans house with a chair but gets it dropkicked into his chest. OTM beat up Hank and Tank with presents as Santa is watching from ringside. Crusifino comes in with a bowling ball to hit Hank low in the corner but Stacks gets powerbombed through a table of cookies.

We take a break and come back with Crusifino being tied up so the Crew can wreck people with kendo sticks. The Family comes back in to choke them with the sticks but OTM make the save. A table is put up in the corner with Borne sailing through it in a big crash. Hank and Tank hit dives onto the floor but here are Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont to brawl with them to the back. This lets Tony D’Angelo slip the Family some candy cane crowbars. A Shatter Machine connects for the Family but Santa lays out D’Angelo. OTM hits the assisted Alabama Slam to pin Crusifino at 12:41.

Rating: C+. There was so much going on here that it was hard to keep track of everything, but there is nothing wrong with getting a fresh team involved in the title picture. Teams like OTM have been around for months without getting much of anywhere so this is better than anything else they have been doing. It was a wild brawl with a theme going on and while there was a lot going on, it could have been worse.

Santa is….Ridge Holland.

Here is Trick Williams for a chat but Oba Femi cuts him off. Eddy Thorpe cuts them both off, saying Williams escaped instead of beating him. Femi says it’s time to move on to him but Thorpe isn’t having that. Williams makes it a triple threat match and Femi isn’t happy. Thorpe tries to say something but gets shut down by Femi. Ava comes out to make the match official, laving the brawl to be on. Femi wrecks Williams but Thorpe escapes to end the show. That’s a lame way out, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they are saving Williams vs. Femi for Stand & Deliver.

Overall Rating: C+. This was more of a show that was designed to move things forward for later on, which makes sense as it was a show of fresh content on Christmas Eve. There is likely going to be a big chunk of the audience missing so putting much of note on here would have been a waste of time. It’s not a bad show, but it’s also not one that feels overly important, which is often worse.

Results
Stephanie Vaquer b. Cora Jade – Package backbreaker
Lexis King b. Charlie Dempsey via DQ when William Regal interfered
Unholy Union b. Fatal Influence – Gory Bomb/Downward Spiral combination to Jayne
Ashante Thee Adonis b. Dion Lennox – Rollup
OTM b. Hank And Tank, No Quarter Catch Crew and D’Angelo Family – Assisted Alabama Slam to Crusifino

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: December 17, 2024
Location: Lowell Memorial Auditorium, Lowell, Massachusetts
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re on the way to the end of the year and we’re outside of the Performance Center for a change. In this case we are on the way to New Year’s Evil, with Trick Williams having to deal with the monster that is Oba Femi. Giulia is coming for the Women’s Title as well, which should make for a big title rematch. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a look back at the history of WWE in Lowell, Massachusetts, including Shawn Michaels losing his smile, before moving on to a preview of tonight’s show.

Oba Femi vs. Axiom

Nathan Frazer is here with Axiom. They start slowly with Axiom trying some chops but getting smacked in the back to break up a springboard attempt. We take a break and come back with Femi knocking him down again. Some rapid fire chops in the corner have Axiom in more trouble but he gets fired up. Axiom dropkicks the leg out and a basement superkick gets two. A missile dropkick connects but the Golden Ratio is countered. The Fall From Grace finishes for Femi at 10:22.

Rating: C+. This was Axiom trying to handle himself against a monster but not being able to hang in there that long. Femi knows how to do this kind of a match and putting him out there week after week should help give him some more experience. As usual, Axiom can work well with anyone and he did just fine here, even up against a monster.

Eddy Thorpe is ready for his title match but Ava comes in to say Thorpe took a shortcut. Thorpe doesn’t care because tonight, you’ll be calling him champion.

Karmen Petrovic isn’t sure what to do but Dion Lennox thinks she should apologize to Nikkita Lyons. They hug, so here is Ashante Thee Adonis to not be impressed. He’s off to text Lyons, with Lennox says he’s going to mind his own business. And read.

Zaria/Sol Ruca vs. Meta Four

Jackson jumps Ruca to start but gets planted face first for her efforts. Ruca gets to surf on her back but it’s off to Legend to run her over. It’s off to Zaria, who actually gets slammed down by Legend in a bit of a surprise. Back up and Zaria lifts Jackson up onto her shoulders so Ruca can climb on top for a big dive.

We take a break and come back with Ruca rolling Legend up for two but Jackson comes in for a butterfly suplex. The crossarm choke goes on but Ruca flips out and hits a quick enziguri. The diving tag brings in Zaria to clean house, with a spear getting two on Jackson. Zaria eventually wins a fight over a suplex with Legend before Ruca adds a springboard splash for two. Jackson is back up with a dive onto Ruca though and Legend hits the Bully Drop (I think) to pin Ruca at 12:14.

Rating: C+. Meta four gets a bit of a step up here after not doing much in the last few weeks. It was almost weird to see Zaria getting powered around but Legend is one of the few people who could make it work. At the same time, Ruca taking the fall is something of a surprise, as she was seemingly on her way into a title picture not that long ago and then it just stopped.

Last week, Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont argued over another loss but Wes Lee doesn’t see anything wrong with Igwe not being happy with a loss. Makes sense

Jaida Parker vs. Wren Sinclair

OTM and the No Quarter Catch Crew are here too. Parker sends her into the corner to start but Sinclair is back with a shot to the face. The Tear Drop into a Falcon Arrow gets two on Sinclair, who is right back with a full nelson. That’s broken up as well so Parker cranks on both arms and even sits down on the shoulder blades. Back up and Sinclair wins a chop off, setting up a butterfly suplex. The teams on the floor get in a fight and brawl to the back before Parker elbows Sinclair in the face. The Hipnotique finishes Sinclair off at 4:33.

Rating: C. Parker continues her rise up the card and that could see her go rather far given the talent and potential she is showing out there. She really does have a lot going on and it could be a big deal when she puts it all together. Sinclair is back to making people look good and that should do well for her, though I could go for seeing her do something more important.

Shotzi, Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin are in the back and Paxley is glad she has someone new to play with against Fatal Influence.

Fatal Influence finds this funny but Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn come in to mock the team’s lack of chemistry.

We get a look back at the history of the Women’s Title, going from the Horsewomen to Asuka to Shayna Baszler and through everyone else up to Roxanne Perez. She’ll have to defend the title against Giulia in two weeks.

Tag Team Titles: Gallus vs. Axiom/Nathan Frazer

Axiom (banged up from earlier) and Nathan Frazer are defending and Joe Coffey is here with Gallus. Frazer, with his protective mask, is wiling to start but Mark Coffey elbows him down in a hurry. Wolfgang comes in for a shot of his own but everything breaks down. Axiom is too banged up for a dive and Wolfgang drops him with a spear as we take a break. Back with Wolfgang running Axiom over for two and working on his arm.

Axiom manages to get over for the tag off to Frazer to pick up the pace, including the springboard moonsault into the reverse DDT on Wolfgang. A frog splash gets two on Mark but the jumping enziguri/powerslam combination gets the same on Frazer. The Howling connects with Axiom having to make the diving save for a change. The Golden Ratio hit Frazer by mistake but Axiom is back with a Canadian Destroyer, leaving Frazer to grab a poisonrana on Wolfgang. Axiom tags himself back in for the super Spanish Fly on Wolfgang, setting up the phoenix splash to retain the titles at 12:02.

Rating: B-. They’re in a weird place with this story as it’s gone on for so long now that it’s almost funny to see the team retain so long. At some point, they are going to lose but it’s gone on for so long that I’m not sure how the reaction will go. It’s reaching the point of “what took so long” and that isn’t a great way to go. For now though, another nice match from a good team, but either split up or don’t already. Just fine something new.

Je’Von Evans praises Hank Walker and Tank Ledger and promises to do more himself in the new year. Ethan Page walks past and doesn’t look happy.

Lexis King has to complete Charlie Dempsey’s playing card workout to get a Heritage Cup shot next week. King does it and gets his shot. This was just a minute of the two of them working out together.

Here is Ethan Page to say he’s sorry for interrupting but he has to get something off his chest. No one here understands what he is going through but he has lost everything. He can’t keep his promise of winning the big one to his daughter and he has broken promises to his family. Right now, he wants to talk to his wife, who is the reason he’s here. His daughter can’t find the NXT Title in his bag and his son cries when he loses. For now, he isn’t sure if he loves this anymore and he has lost his smile.

Cue Je’Von Evans to interrupt saying this isn’t the real Page. The real Page loves his family and the smile that Evans saw when Page was with them was genuine. Now he needs to drop the All Ego thing and show us who Page really is. Page says he should be worried about taking Evans’ smile and the beating is on. Evans’ neck gets Pillmanized and he spits up a bunch of blood. I’ll take this over Page trying to turn over a new leaf or pretty much anything involving Evans so we’ll call this a double win.

Trick Williams is ready to fight. Oba Femi comes in to say he hopes Williams retains because he wants to face Williams at New Year’s Evil.

Stephanie Vaquer has her sights set on Cora Jade.

NXT Title: Eddy Thorpe vs. Trick Williams

Williams is defending and takes Thorpe down with a headlock to start. Some running shoulders have Thorpe bailing out to the floor, where Williams chops him up against the barricade. Back in and Williams misses a side kick to crotch himself on the top. We take a break and come back with Thorpe working on a neck crank. Williams fights up and strikes away, setting up a Rock Bottom for two. Thorpe is back with a suplex for two of his own and they both get a bit of a breather.

They trade kicks to the head until Thorpe grabs a Randy Orton backbreaker. Thorpe tries the implant DDT but the referee gets dropped so there’s no count. Another referee comes in to count two off Williams’ rollup, followed by the Trick Shot for three…from both referees…as all four shoulders are down (Williams is on top but Thorpe does get a hand on his stomach to make it a double cover) and Thorpe’s foot is under the ropes at 11:19.

Rating: C+. Not exactly a classic here, but it was similar to the ending of the Shawn Michaels vs. HHH match in San Antonio in 2003. Shawn has a tendency to book things he’s done over his career but waiting over twenty years is acceptable enough. That being said, I’m not sure why they’re doing this kind of an angle three weeks ahead of a Femi vs. Williams showdown. Odds are this is cleared up with a rematch next week, because they’re having a show on Christmas Eve.

Confusion reigns to end the show with Ava wanting explanations from the referees.

Overall Rating: C+. I wasn’t feeling this one as much as most recent editions, with the majority just not being that interesting. The ending felt like it was a way to set up next week, but that show is not likely to have the biggest audience so it feels like a stretch. Other than that, Axiom and Frazer had their usual match with the same story, which didn’t leave much here to really draw you in. Not a terrible show, but pretty skippable this week.

Results
Oba Femi b. Axiom – Fall From Grace
Meta Four b. Zaria/Sol Ruca – Bully drop to Ruca
Jaida Parker b. Wren Sinclair – Hipnotique
Axiom/Nathan Frazer b. Gallus – Phoenix splash to Wolfgang
Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe went to a double pin

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NXT
Date: December 10, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

We’re done with Deadline and the big story is the Iron Survivor Challenges, with Oba Femi and Giulia winning the competitions to earn title shots at New Year’s Evil. That gives us something to build towards over the next few weeks and we should have some more fallout from the weekend to deal with as well. Let’s get to it.

Here is Deadline if you need a recap.

We open with a long Deadline recap.

Here is Giulia to get things going with a promise to win the Women’s Title at New Year’s Evil. Roxanne Perez comes out to suggest that Giulia was the weakest entrant of the match. While the women’s division is great, none of the women are at her level. Giulia wants to fight right now but cue Cora Jade with a baseball bat. Sure Giulia thinks Stephanie Vaquer is going to come out here for the save, but there is no question about who did it. We cut to the back where Vaquer is down so Giulia tries to fight, with Kelani Jordan running in for the save.

We look at Ethan Page being devastated after losing at Deadline.

The D’Angelo Family feels sorry for Page so Tony D’Angelo offers him a North American Title shot. Page calls that a step down for him so D’Angelo offers everyone in the room a shot. Everyone jumps up and NOW Page is willing to accept, saying that if he can’t win, he doesn’t have a career around here.

Lexis King talks to Charlie Dempsey and asks about another Heritage Cup shot. Dempsey says he’ll think about it, which is enough for King to leave. Dempsey praises the rest of the team but OTM comes in to bicker a lot.

Je’Von Evans vs. Wes Lee

They slug it out to start with Lee hammering him down on the ropes but getting sent to the floor for the big dive. Back in and Lee dropkicks him out of the air before sending things back outside. Evans shrugs off a whip into the barricade, setting up another dive to take Lee out again. Lee is smart enough to go after the knee and hits a dive of his own as we take a break.

We come back with Evans hitting a superkick, followed by a spinning kick to the head. A top rope clothesline gives Evans two but Lee grabs the referee to block a sunset flip. Lee snaps off a hurricanrana but charges into a Spanish Fly. Evans’ Pearl River Plunge gets two, as does Lee’s tornado DDT. Back up and Evans kicks him down again, setting up the spinning top rope splash for the pin at 12:24.

Rating: B-. This was the match built around fast spots and dives, which is where these two end to shine. Evans getting a nice win makes sense for him and another loss is going to get on Lee’s nerves. They’re certainly trying with Evans and that is a good sign for his future. He still has a long way to go, but at least they’ve started.

Axiom and Nathan Frazer patch things up (again), with Frazer wanting to make things right after Axiom did so much work at Deadline.

Video on Josh Briggs going to Japan and meeting Yoshiki Inamura, who is here with him as his partner. They both like the hard hitting style.

Kelani Jordan and Giulia are mad about Stephanie Vaquer being attacked. Vengeance is sworn in the main event.

Sol Ruca and Zaria liked the Iron Survivor Challenge when Meta Four come in to say they would have won if they were involved. Trash talking ensues.

Hank Walker/Tank Ledger vs. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont

Fallout from last week’s tag team battle royal. Hank and Tank drop DuPont to start but Igwe comes in for a double clothesline. Igwe gets dropped with a double standing splash, earning the coveted SHUCKY DUCKY QUACK QUACK. A spinning belly to back suplex gets Igwe out of trouble and he drops Ledger with a jumping elbow. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Leger fights up and drops Igwe, allowing the tag back to Walker. There’s a spinning Boss Man Slam to DuPont and the powerslam/neckbreaker combination finishes him off at 5:24.

Rating: C. This was pretty to the point with Walker and Ledger continuing to win a decent amount of their matches. I still don’t get their appeal but the fans like them and that’s good enough to keep them around. Igwe and DuPont feel like a team with some potential as well, but losing in a five minute match isn’t a great sign for their future.

Post match DuPont shakes hands but Igwe walks away.

Here is Oba Femi for a chat. He brags about his win at Deadline and now it’s time for him to win the NXT Title. That brings him to Trick Williams, whose path he has yet to cross. Cue Williams…but Eddy Thorpe comes out to cut Williams off. Thorpe says his people have been through enough and says Femi took him out last week. Femi suggests that he didn’t attack Thorpe (though he never flat out denies it) but Williams says it’s time for he and Femi to clash in Los Angeles.

Femi says Williams is only the #1 guy around here because Femi allowed it. Now he is ready to take the title and the Trick era is ending. With Femi gone, Thorpe says Williams didn’t do anything about Femi attacking him. He accuses Williams of being a manufactured sports entertainer but Williams is sick of the doubters. The challenge is on for next week, with Williams telling Ava to make the match.

Fatal Influence is worried about Gigi Dolin.

Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley run into Izzi Dame, who threatens Dolin as well. Cue Shawn Spears, Brooks Jensen and Niko Vance but Dame isn’t interested.

Fatal Influence vs. Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley

Fallon Henley is here as well. Paxley kicks her way out of trouble to start and Dolin hiptosses Nyx into a dropkick. Nyx and Dolin go to the floor with the latter being posted but Paxley comes back in to clean house. Henley shoves Paxley off the top though and Jayne hits a discus forearm for the pin at 3:08.

Rating: C. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and was more about showing that Paxley and Dolin need someone to even up the numbers. There are more than a few options for that and I’m curious to see who they get. For now though, Fatal Influence gets a win to show they’re capable of beating someone, which is something they need every so often.

Post match the beatdown is on but Shotzi returns for the save and the villains are cleaned out.

Nathan Frazer and Axiom are both trying to thank the other so Axiom has gotten a match with Oba Femi to avenge Frazer next week. That’s all well and good….but Frazer has gotten them a Tag Team Title defense for next week too. Axiom isn’t pleased, but Frazer says he can’t see his face.

North American Title: Tony D’Angelo vs. Ethan Page

D’Angelo, with the Family, is defending. Page takes him to the mat for an early headscissors but D’Angelo is back up with a running shot to the face. They crash out to the floor in a heap though and we take an early break. Back with D’Angelo hitting a facebuster into a jumping knee to the face (always good to suck up to the boss) but Page kicks him in the face. Page kicks him out of the corner and hits a Twist of Fate for two. The Ego’s Edge is escaped and D’Angelo plants him with the spinebuster to retain at 8:38.

Rating: C+. This was more about Page losing and not knowing where to go next, but D’Angelo getting a win over a former NXT Champion should only help him. As is often the case around here, they only had so much time with the break in the middle, but it wasn’t bad by any means. I’m not sure what’s next for Page and that is a nice feeling to have.

Lexis King meets Ryan Leaf (former NFL player and current CW broadcaster), who was impressed by King going to Minneapolis to close that chapter in his life. Charlie Dempsey comes in to say that King can have his title shot in two weeks, but first he has to get through a workout. Works for King.

Ethan Page is all depressed and isn’t sure if he’s good enough. He’s lost and ashamed and leaves, still in his gear.

Roxanne Perez/Cora Jade vs. Giulia/Kelani Jordan

Perez and Jade jump Giulia on the stage so Jordan is here for the save. They get inside with the villains being dropkicked out to the floor, with Perez being thrown back in for the opening bell. A basement crossbody gives Jordan two and it’s off to Jade, who armdrags her way out of trouble. Jordan sens Perez hard into the corner as we take a break.

Back with Perez knocking Jordan to the floor for a suicide dive. Jordan fights out of trouble in a hurry and it’s off to Giulia to pick up the pace. A northern lights suplex gets two on Perez and a belly to back cuts Perez off again. Jordan’s top rope splash gets two with Jade making the save. Perez dropkicks Jordan but Giulia’s distraction lets Jordan hit a spinwheel kick. Perez hits Pop Rox on Jordan on the floor and brawls with Giulia, leaving Jade to DDT Jordan for the pin at 10:56.

Rating: B-. Jade needed to get a win, even if it was in a tag match, as she was the weak link of the four here. Jade vs. Jordan could be a nice feud on its own and I’ll take the idea of developing more non-title feuds in any division. I’m glad they didn’t go with what felt like the obvious result of Giulia pinning Perez to set up the title match, as the story is already there without having the champ get pinned.

Post match Stephanie Vaquer comes in to jump Jade and breaks the baseball bat over her leg. Jade is chased out of the arena.

Eddy Thorpe signs a contract for an NXT Title shot. Ava says they’re still looking for who attacked him….but Thorpe says she’s looking at the attacker. He just got his title shot and didn’t have to go through five people to do it. That’s a nice swerve and a clever heel move.

Overall Rating: B-. NXT is in a bit of a weird place here as the two title matches are set for their big show in January and that is what got the focus here. Those two matches alone are going to be enough to carry New Year’s Evil so it’s ok to wait a bit to focus on everything else. It made for a show that was centered around those two matches, but that didn’t leave much else that felt important.

I liked the swerve at the end as Thorpe came off as smart, but he feels like a speed bump for Williams more than anything else. Good enough show this week with the big matches getting the focus, though they’re going to need something else to bridge the gap in the coming weeks.

Results
Je’Von Evans b. Wes Lee – Spinning top rope splash
Hank Walker/Tank Ledger b. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont – Powerslam/neckbreaker combination to DuPont
Fatal Influence b. Gigi Dolin/Tatum Paxley – Discus forearm to Paxley
Tony D’Angelo b. Ethan Page – Spinebuster
Cora Jade/Roxanne Perez b. Kelani Jordan/Giulia – DDT to Jordan

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: December 3, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the go home show for Deadline and that means it is time to finalize the lineups for the Iron Survivor Challenges. We have a pair of last chance matches tonight, plus the tag team battle royal to crown some new #1 contenders. This is a pretty stacked show and that should mean something good so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Jaida Parker vs. Wren Sinclair vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Cora Jade

Jordan and Sinclair both grab early near falls and the other two join in with their own two counts. A high crossbody gets two on Parker but Jade is back in with a double clothesline to Jordan and Sinclair. Parker puts the two of them in the corner and sits on their ribs as we take a break.

Back with Jordan getting the worst of a Tower Of Doom but she’s able to powerbomb Jade out of the corner. Jordan frog splashes Parker and Sinclair at the same time with Jade making the save. Jade’s double arm DDT is broken up with a clothesline and Jordan drops a 450 but Parker drops Sinclair onto them to break it up. Parker goes for the cover but cue Lola Vice for the distraction, allowing Sinclair to get the pin on Jade at 11:16.

Rating: B-. They kept things moving here and it made for a fast paced match with Sinclair winning in a surprise. Jordan felt like the logical way to go here, but it was nice to see a bit of a twist. Sinclair has been doing rather well for the last few months and she deserves to get a chance to do something bigger.

Eddy Thorpe is going to win tonight and says he didn’t do anything wrong last week. Lexis King comes in to say Thorpe needs to stay calm, but tonight King is on his path to winning a title.

Here is a ticked off Jaida Parker to call out Lola Vice. After a break, and with the ropes being removed, Parker wants NXT Underground. Ava comes out to make the match for Deadline but here is Vice to promise to knock Parker out. Parker throws her the brick and then knocks Vice out with an elbow.

Brinley Reece and Dion Lennox try to calm Karmen Petrovic down about Ashante Thee Adonis. Petrovic gets some flowers from Adonis, who says he sent the text to Nikkita Lyons before her. She’s impressed.

Axiom and Nathan Frazier aren’t on the same page (again) about which Deadline match they should be focused on.

Tag Team Battle Royal

D’Angelo Family, OTM, Gallus, Hank Walker/Tank Ledger, No Quarter Catch Crew, Josh Briggs, Yoshiniki Inamura, Tyson DuPont/Tyriek Igwe

The winners get a Tag Team Title shot at Deadline and both members have to be eliminated. It’s a brawl to start with Inamura cleaning house. Hank and Tank get rid of DuPont and a chop gets rid of Crusifino. Heights and Briggs are both put out and Stacks is tossed to officially eliminate the Family. Back with Inamura and Nima out to get the field down even further. Hank and Tank get rid of Igwe, who grabs the rope and Walker is sent outside.

Walker catches Ledger before he’s eliminated and Gallus are put out back to back. We’re down to Nima, Borne and Ledger, with the fans rather behind….well NXT actually. Price chokeslams Borne onto Ledger, the latter of whom is back up to drop both of them. Back up and Nima gets crotched on top, allowing Borne to clothesline Ledger out. A dropkick eliminates Nima to give Borne, and the No Quarter Catch Crew, the win at 14:44.

Rating: C. Tag team battle royals are hard to make work and that was the case again here, mainly because a lot of these teams just don’t stand out. OTM and DuPont/Igwe haven’t done anything to distinguish themselves, Briggs and Inamura are brand new, the D’Angelo Family are just lackeys for D’Angelo himself, and the Catch Crew and Gallus are just ok. No one stands out above the pack and that didn’t help. Heights and Borne getting the shot works well enough though, as it’s no like there is a team who really belongs on top.

Here is Eric Bischoff to moderate a chat between Trick Williams and Ridge Holland. Bischoff talks about being on the cutting edge of wrestling and how awesome that has always been. It was a revolution in WCW and now the same thing is going on here in NXT. Two pieces of the puzzle to raise NXT up to that next level are his guests tonight so here are Holland and Williams.

Bischoff talks about how Holland is like a throwback to wrestlers like the Crusher. Williams is a total package (Williams: “Let’s talk about it.”) but Holland calls him a stand up comedian with abs. Holland is ready to take the NXT Title but Williams calls him bland and boring.

Holland says that while Williams was a football player, Holland was playing a man’s game in rugby. Williams slugs away and the fight is on with Holland hitting a lifting DDT onto the announcers’ table. That’s enough for Williams to be taken away on a stretcher. I have no idea why Bischoff was needed here.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Karmen Petrovic

They both miss kicks to start until Petrovic kicks her into the corner. Lyons is back with some choking on the ropes and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Petrovic strikes away but Lyons grabs a release German suplex. Cue Ashante Thee Adonis, who takes a kick from Lyons (aimed at Petrovic), which allows Petrovic to hit the Silent Slice for the win at 3:34.

Rating: C. Short and to the point here but I can go for Petrovic getting the win. She needs something to make her feel like a bigger star and while I’m not big on the Adonis story, it’s better than nothing. At the very least, she’s winning matches and that should help boost her up quite nicely.

Post match Petrovic says Adonis shoved her and walks off.

Shawn Spears is almost ready to unleash Niko Vance but we pan over to Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin, with Spears saying he’ll be watching Dolin’s return match.

The No Quarter Catch Crew is fired up and ready for Deadline.

Gigi Dolin vs. Izzi Dame

Tatum Paxley is here with Dolin, who takes Dame down for an early chinlock. Cue Shawn Spears to watch as Fatal Influence is watching in the back, with Dame stomping away on the ropes. A big boot takes Paxley out (Spears approves) but Dolin slips out of a half crab. An STO gives Dame two but Dolin is right back with the Gigi Driver for the win at 3:43.

Rating: C. Another short match here, with Dolin getting back in the swing of things after being away for so long. It seems like she is in for a Women’s North American Title match and she is going to need a few wins to get ready. That’s one of the easiest ways to do it, and odds are she’ll be facing the rest of Fatal Influence sooner than later. That’s not a bad idea, and in this case that is working well enough.

Sean Waltman praises Je’Von Evans, who is the same age Waltman was when he beat Razor Ramon. Evans is a big starstruck.

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Qualifying Match: Cedric Alexander vs. Lexis King vs. Eddy Thorpe vs. Axiom

Ethan Page is on commentary. It’s a fast start with King snapping off a running hurricanrana to send Evans outside. Back in and Alexander knocks King to the floor. Axiom and Alexander put each other down and we take a break. We come back with Thorpe getting the worst end of a Tower Of Doom and King hitting a big running flip dive to the floor.

Back in and King’s Swanton gets two on Alexander but Axiom is back up with some running shots to the face. The super Spanish Fly gets two on Thorpe, setting up a cross armbreaker. That’s broken up and Alexander Michinoku Drivers King for two, with Thorpe making the save. The Golden Ratio hits King but Thorpe steals the pin at 10:45.

Rating: B-. This was similar to the way the Iron Survivor Challenge is going to go as it was a bunch of fast paced offense with everyone trying to score a fast pin. It makes for some exciting action and that is the point of what we’ll be seeing this weekend. Thorpe going forward is an interesting way to go, though King and Axiom were viable options as well.

Ava calls in and says the NXT Title match is still on for Deadline.

Eddy Thorpe can’t find Ava but promises to win the NXT Title.

Deadline rundown.

Here is Roxanne Perez for a chat. She’s interested in the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge because it’s what got her on the map, but everyone this year is fighting for second place. Any of them can get something out of winning but nothing compares to stepping in the ring with her. Cue all of the people in the match to interrupt and the big brawl is on, with Perez being knocked to the floor.

We cut to the back where Eddy Thorpe has been laid out.

Overall Rating: C+. Other than the last members of the Iron Survivor Challenges being introduced, there was only so much to this show. They tried something at the end with Thorpe being attacked, but I was only kind of getting into this one. The good thing is Deadline is such a gimmick heavy show and we should be in for a good one. Not a great show here, but it helped set the bigger one.

Results
Wren Sinclair b. Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan and Cora Jade – 450 to Jade
No Quarter Catch Crew won a tag team battle royal last eliminating OTM
Karmen Petrovic b. Nikkita Lyons – Silent Slice
Gigi Dolin b. Izzi Dame – Gigi Driver
Eddy Thorpe b. Axiom, Cedric Alexander and Lexis King – Golden Ratio to King

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NXT
Date: April 30, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

The Draft is done and now it is time to wrap up Spring Breakkin. Last week’s card was absolutely stacked while this week’s show isn’t quite as big. The main even seems to be Natalya vs. Lola Vice in NXT Underground. Other than that, we might find out what is next for new NXT Champion Trick Williams. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

We open with a recap of Trick Williams winning the NXT Title last week.

Here is Williams for his big celebration as champion. He likes the sound of hearing his name as champion but he wants to thank Ilja Dragunov. Raw is getting a good one, but this is officially the Whoop That Era. Cue Lash Legend to praise Williams, who thinks something is going on.

The last time they were in the same ring, she hit him in the face, but now he has some gold and now she wants him to be her Reese’s Cup: take the gold off and get to the chocolate inside. Legend is more into Kit Kats but she has an envelope, which means the end of his title reign. We don’t see what is in said envelope and Legend leaves. These two are funny together.

Gigi Dolin and Arianna Grace are at a fancy dinner so Dolin can learn dining etiquette. This turns into a preview for the show.

North American Title: Oba Femi vs. Ivar

Ivar is challenging. They slug it out to start with Ivar getting the better of things by clotheslining him to the floor for a dive off the apron. Back in and the spinning powerslam gives Ivar one but Femi is back with an Irish Curse. They’re already back on the floor, where Femi is sent into the steps, setting up a big crash against the barricade.

We take a break and come back with Ivar knocking him off the top again and hitting a big flip dive to the floor. Back in and Femi runs him over with a hard forearm for two but Ivar knocks him back down for the same. It’s too early for the Doomsault though and Femi pulls Ivar into a torture rack drop for two. Ivar is back up with another knockdown and now the Doomsault connects but Femi makes the ropes. Another Doomsault is loaded up but Femi cuts it off with an electric chair drop. The pop up powerbomb retains the title at 11:04.

Rating: B. I do appreciate a match that is exactly as advertised. This was always going to be two big, strong guys beating the fire out of each other and that’s exactly what it was. Ivar wasn’t likely to win the title here but he makes a nice addition to Femi’s resume. Good stuff here, with Femi’s star continuing to rise at an amazing rate.

Post match Wes Lee returns after several months away and the fans approve.

Thea Hail talks Fallon Henley into coming with her to ringside.

Thea Hail vs. Jacy Jayne

The rest of Chase U, Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx are all here too. They slap each other in the face to start and go to the floor with Jayne taking over. We take an early break and come back with Hail springboarding into a neckbreaker for two. Jayne misses a Cannonball though and they’re both down. Hail is back up with a Michinoku Driver for two but Jayne kicks her outside. Henley shoves Hail out of the way from a kick from Nyx, allowing Hail to Kimura Jayne for the tap at 7:59.

Rating: C. This was the grudge match win that Hail needed to, at least in theory, wrap up the feud. There isn’t much left for them to do or say to each other, though Henley taking the bullet for Hail is interesting. Not a great match, but it did what it needed to do and wrapped up the feud with Hail getting the win.

Post match Henley decks Hail to turn on her and leaves on her own.

Tyson DuPont and Tyriek Igwe are coming to NXT tonight. They’re strong and smart.

Natalya and Karmen Petrovic are warming up.

OC vs. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont

Igwe powers Anderson into the corner to start, setting up the hard shoulders to the ribs. The bigger DuPont hits a splash for two but Anderson drives Igwe into the corner for the tag to Gallows. Some forearms to the chest set up the chinlock, with Igwe having to power up into a fireman’s carry. DuPont comes back in with a side slam to Anderson and everything breaks down. Anderson grabs a spinebuster and the Magic Killer finishes Igwe at 4:17.

Rating: C+. They had me thinking we might see a big upset here as the OC was getting beaten up for a good chunk of the match. At the same time, I do get the idea of not wanting to put a rocket on a team just yet, as they certainly started well enough. Hopefully they get a win next time though, as you don’t want them being branded as losers right out of the gate.

We look at NXT stars being Drafted. A bunch of the coaches talk about what it means to them too, which is a rather nice touch.

Here is Ava for a big announcement. We are indeed going to have a Women’s North American Champion, as crowned in….a ladder match at Battleground, with twelve wrestlers competing in qualifying matches. Oh joy. Cue Jaida Parker, Sol Ruca, Arianna Grace, Michin and a bunch of other women to say they should be champion. A huge brawl breaks out.

The Street Profits wish Axiom and Nathan Frazer luck against the AOP tonight. Never slow down.

Lola Vice and Shayna Baszler train for NXT Underground.

Shawn Spears vs. Ridge Holland

Spears sticks and moves to start before bailing to the floor for an early break. Back with Spears getting two off a neckbreaker and putting on a reverse chinlock. A front facelock is broken up with pure power and Holland drives some shoulders to the ribs in the corner. The mysterious QR code pops up on the screen as Holland hits a Death Valley Driver into the corner. A lifting DDT (Paige’s old Rampaige) finishes Spears at 7:35.

Rating: C. This wasn’t great but it gave Holland a win after a rather weird period. Odds are that isn’t over, but you can’t have him lose a bunch and then try to do something with him. Spears is interesting in an agent of chaos way and there is a good chance we’ll see him do more of the same going forward.

Roxanne Perez yells at Ava about not getting Drafted, even though champions were protected.

Josh Briggs mocks Ivar for losing to Oba Femi. Wes Lee comes in to say he’s coming for the title, but Briggs seems to be standing in his way.

The Final Testament is ominous. At least Paul Ellering gets to talk for a bit here.

The D’Angelo Family wants the Heritage Cup and it’s going to be a group effort.

Tag Team Titles: AOP vs. Axiom/Nathan Frazer

The AOP, with the Final Testament, are challenging. The fight is on before the bell with the champs superkicking AOP outside. Some dives connect as well and we ring the bell, with Akam throwing Frazer down. Frazer gets caught in the wrong corner and AOP fires off the hard knees to the ribs. Rezar’s neck crank doesn’t last long and it’s back to Akam for a hard German suplex.

We take a break and come back with Rezar missing a running boot but Akam comes in and gets Frazer into the corner. Frazer DDTs his way to freedom but Rezar sends Frazer into a knee to the face for two. The Last Chapter is broken up and Akam is taken up top, only to have Scarlett grab Axiom’s foot. Massive ejections ensue but here is the New Catch Republic for a distraction, allowing Frazer to superkick Akam into a rollup for the pin to retain at 9:34.

Rating: B-. Another match with a simple formula which worked out rather well. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with teams like these two and they did rather well. The Republic interfering ties things into what they have been doing on the main roster so everything makes sense without making the champs look weak.

Ridge Holland of all people checks on Thea Hail, who is crushed by Fallon Henley’s betrayal.

Meta Four will reveal Lash Legend’s envelope next week.

Fallon Henley tells Kelani Jordan that she’s going to start putting herself first.

Edris Enofe and Malik Blade are worried about breaking a mirror last week but Brinley Reece has the solution: black cats!

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Natalya vs. Lola Vice

NXT Underground, meaning the ropes are gone and the ring is surrounded by wrestlers, with knockout/TKO/submission to win and Karmen Petrovic and Shayna Baszler are the respective seconds. Vice strikes away to start and they fight out to the floor before going with the grappling back inside. Natalya grabs a kneebar but Vice kicks her way out. A hip attack sends Natalya outside and we take a break.

Back with the fight heading to the floor again with Natalya sending her into the apron. A snap suplex on the floor has Vice in trouble but she trips Natalya on the announcers’ table. Back in and Vice grabs a triangle choke with some elbows to the head but Natalya slips out anyway. Natalya can’t power out of a guillotine so she drops it to the floor for the break in a smart move.

The Hartbreaker around the post has Vice in more trouble but Petrovic has to jump an invading Baszler. Back in and Baszler breaks up a Sharpshooter attempt, only to have the second attempt go on. Baszler Kirifuda Clutches Petrovic so Natalya breaks the hold like a moron, allowing Vice to get up and hit a spinning backfist for the knockout at 11:53.

Rating: B-. This is something that is only going to work with the right people and these two did rather well with it. Vice gets a pretty big time win to boost herself up and now we get to see where she can go from here. Natalya is at her best when she is helping make someone look better and that is exactly what she did here.

Ava announces that Roxanne Perez is defending the Women’s Title against Chelsea Green. Perez is livid but Green thinks she’ll like it here.

Overall Rating: B. For a show that didn’t seem like much on paper, this went rather well, with a bunch of stuff happening and some surprise cameos for a special touch. What matters here is they made me want to see where these stories are coming, which is a very important part of any show. Surprisingly awesome show here as NXT is already back up after the Draft gutted a lot of its bigger names.

Results
Obi Femi b. Ivar – Pop up powerbomb
Thea Hail b. Jacy Jayne – Kimura
OC b. Tyriek Igwe/Tyson DuPont – Magic Killer to Igwe
Ridge Holland b. Shawn Spears – Lifting DDT
Axiom/Nathan Frazer b. AOP – Rollup to Akam
Lola Vice b. Natalya – Spinning backfist

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