This was a decent episode of NXT. the main event was the highlight of the evening. The action was pretty good and the mini-storyline of Nikkita Lyons overcoming an attack earlier in the night heightened the stakes. The lowlight of the evening was probably the match between Kiana James and Fallon Henley. The match was ok but there wasn't anything special about it. Shawn Michaels announced most of the Iron Survivor participants while leaving the final spots open to be decided at a later date. This episode loses points because none of the matches ascend into the category of great.
On tonight’s episode of NXT: Malik Blade is looking to avenge the destruction of his father’s sweater. Will Von Wagner get his comeuppance? Roxanne Perez takes on Indi Hartwell. Kiana James goes one on one with Fallon Henley. Toxic Attraction faces the trio of Nikkita Lyons and the women’s tag team champions, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. And Shawn Michaels announces participants for the Iron Survivor Challenges. Who will participate in the first edition of this match?
GOOD Roxanne Perez vs Indi Hartwell:
Perez focused on the sleeper holds early on while Hartwell countered with power. Later, Hartwell focused on her opponent’s lower back with three bodyslams. In the finish, Perez countered an attack from Indi Hartwell and won with Pop Rocks.
Results: Roxanne Perez by Pinfall via Pop Rocks
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Duke Hudson tried to apologize to Andre Chase by starting a petition to get Chase into the Iron Survivor Challenge.
ABOVE AVERAGE Dijak vs Dante Chen:
Dijak pummeled Chen early on, landing a chokeslam. Chen got in a brief bout of offense halfway through, but it wasn’t enough. Dijak won in dominating fashion. After the match, Dijak called out the NXT locker room.
Results: Dijak by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
JD McDonagh told the Creed Brothers they don’t stand a chance against Veer and Sanga.
Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Molly Holly, and Alundra Blayze talked about who to put in the Iron Survivor Challenges.
GOOD Grayson Waller vs Duke Hudson:
Hudson had the power advantage, but Waller took the advantage by hair-pulling and distractions from Hudson’s Chase U teammates. Later, Duke Hudson paid homage to Dusty Rhodes and Hulk Hogan in his offense on Waller. Thea Hail was the deciding factor when Duke Hudson narrowly avoided an accidental kick to his Chase U stablemate. This allowed Grayson Waller to finish him off with a stunner.
Results: Grayson Waller by Pinfall via Rolling Thunder Stunner
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Javier Bernal tried to sell a bunch of weird products before Axiom challenged him to a match.
ABOVE AVERAGE Kiana James vs Fallon Henley:
James controlled this match in the beginning, targeting Henley’s limbs. Despite hurting her arm, Fallon Henley fought her way back, getting a near fall. James tossed her bag at Henley as a distraction, opening the door for a 401k.
Results: Kiana James by Pinfall via 401k
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.5 Stars
Odyssey Jones and Edris Enofe hyped up Malik Blade ahead of his match with Von Wagner.
HBK and company mention Roxanne Perez, Indi Hartwell, and Zoey Stark as potential participants for the Women’s Ironman Challenge.
Zoey Stark attacked Nikkita Lyons as she made her way to the ring for a six-woman tag match. The match was canceled as Toxic Attraction mocked Lyons’ injury.
A video for a new superstar named Lyra Valkiria is shown.
Elektra Lopez said that she came back to NXT to become the face of the women’s division.
GOOD Axiom vs Javier Bernal:
Bernal countered a rope move by disrupting Axiom’s balance. Then, Bernal focused on the injured knee of his opponent. Axiom responded with an armbar submission but Bernal broke out of it with a powerbomb. In the end, Axiom got the victory on a Golden Ratio kick.
Results: Axiom by Pinfall via Golden Ratio
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Nikkita Lyons avoided an injury and was cleared for action.
Pretty Deadly promised to tell a Christmas story, Pretty Deadly style.
Bron Breakker and Apollo Crews met at a diner to talk about their upcoming match.
ABOVE AVERAGE JD McDonagh vs Julius Creed:
After he toppled Creed on the ring corner, McDonagh drop-kicked him onto the floor. Later in the match, Veer and Sanga came to the ring to watch the action. McDonagh tried to hit Julius Creed with a chair, but Sanga took the shot for him. The ref disqualified JD McDonagh for trying to use a chair on Creed.
Results: Julius Creed by Disqualification
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 2.75 Stars
Tony D’Angelo made a deal with Dijak regarding Wes Lee.
GOOD Von Wagner vs Malik Blade:
Blade looked to get revenge on Wagner for destroying his father’s sweater and opened the match with intensity. Impressively, Malik Blade body-slammed his much larger opponent. Unfortunately for Blade, Von Wagner got his knees up to counter the frog splash. Wagner won on a Death Valley Driver and brawled with Odyssey Jones and Edris Enofe post-match.
Results: Von Wagner by Pinfall via Death Valley Driver
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3 Stars
Shawn Michaels announced that Carmelo Hayes, JD McDonagh, Grayson Waller, and Joe Gacy will participate in the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge. On the women’s side, Zoey Stark, Cora Jade, Roxanne Perez, and Kiana James. A wild card match will decide the final participant for both the men and women.
GOOD Toxic Attraction vs Nikkita Lyons, Katana Chance, and Kayden Carter:
The team of Lyons, Carter, and Chance had the advantage early on, driving Toxic Attraction out of the ring. To turn it around, Mandy Rose hit Carter with an elbow to the back of the head while Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin followed up with a double knee. Later, Lyons nearly got the pin but Gigi Dolin broke up the pin. In the finish, Dolin pinned Lyons.
Results: Toxic Attraction by Pinfall
Matt Cookson WR Star Rating – 3.25 Stars
Overall…
This was a decent episode of NXT. the main event was the highlight of the evening. The action was pretty good and the mini-storyline of Nikkita Lyons overcoming an attack earlier in the night heightened the stakes. The lowlight of the evening was probably the match between Kiana James and Fallon Henley. The match was ok but there wasn’t anything special about it. Shawn Michaels announced most of the Iron Survivor participants while leaving the final spots open to be decided at a later date. This episode loses points because none of the matches ascend into the category of great.
Matches: 0.25/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere: 0.5/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating. 3/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
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