NXT followed up Deadline with a good show this week. Starting with the match quality, it was a bit up and down in this episode. We had a great contest between Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans, but the theme of the matches seemed to be miscommunication as this issue was quite obvious in a few contests. The main event was a fun way to finish off the show, with Cora Jade once again showing off her improvement from an in-ring perspective. Storytelling was fairly strong this week, there were some good segments like Trick and Oba finally facing off. While the return of Shotzi was a very welcome surprise, Shotzi coming back to NXT makes the women’s division even stronger. Hopefully a faction with Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolan is on the horizon. Fraxiom’s story is one of the highlights of NXT each week, as Axiom now has to face Oba Femi and defend the tag titles against Gallus next week. Then the fantastic character development of Ethan Page continued, he seems to have lost his confidence and it will be interesting to see how he finds it again. Was this show the best way to follow up on Deadline? Not really, but it did a good job of advancing some storylines, while making good starts to new chapters in the NXT book.
NXT looks to continue their momentum after Deadline this week. This is what we have in store for us on the show. The Iron Survivors will be on the episode, as we find out what Oba Femi and Giulia have to say. Je’Von Evans and Wes Lee go one on one once again. Gigi Dolan and Tatum Paxley team up to take on Fatal Influence. Let’s get into the review!
GREAT Giulia Promo
Giulia came out to the ring and explained how excited she is to be facing Roxanne Perez at New Year’s Evil. It didn’t take long until Rox and Cora interrupted her, as they announced that they took out Stephanie so she would be a non-factor for their match. Kelani Jordan came to Giulia’s rescue, as the numbers game was once again no match for the Beautiful Madness.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
AMAZING Je’Von Evans vs Wes Lee
I would be happy to watch these two wrestle each other every week honestly. Je’Von and Wes have great chemistry, this one followed the story of Evans trying to prove how he is further ahead than Wes when he was in his position. So his resilience and toughness was on display, more so than his outstanding athletic ability. The heat was turned up a bit more in this one as opposed to their previous match, as both men let out some very hard-hitting strikes.
Result: Je’Von Evans by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
BELOW AVERAGE Hank and Tank vs Tyson and Tyriek
There was a nice little build to this match, which grew from the tag team battle royale last week. Some noticeable mistakes in this one, which took you out of the match a bit. Hank and Tank were the eventual winners.
Result: Hank and Tank by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 2.00 Stars
GREAT Oba Femi Promo
Oba Femi and Trick Williams finally came face to face, except they were rudely interrupted by Eddy Thorpe, as he still wants to find out who attacked him last week. Oba said it wasn’t him, while he also hit Trick with some hard truths. Femi said there wouldn’t be a “Whoop That Trick” era if he didn’t allow it to happen. Thorpe wasn’t able to read the room, and criticised Trick for not being a locker room leader. This earned him a title match for next week with Williams.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
SQUASH Gigi Dolan and Tatum Paxley vs Fatal Influence
This one was a very quick match. Fatal Influence picked up the win after several interruptions. Shotzi made her return afterwards to help even the odds against the faction.
Result: Fatal Influence by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: Too short to rate
GOOD Tony D’Angelo vs Ethan Page – NXT North American Championship
This was a fine match, but it was the story that was the driving force behind it. Ethan Page continues his intriguing character development, as the self doubt creeps in even more after this loss. But in-ring wise, nothing to shout about.
Result: Tony D’Angelo by Pinfall via Spinebuster
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.25 Stars
GREAT Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez vs Giulia and Kelani Jordan
Very fun main event, but I know these four can have a better match than this. There were some slight timing issues and lack of communication, but along with the sequences between Rox and Giulia, Cora Jade’s vast improvement in the ring was a highlight of the match. The finish made sense and was unique, Roxanne and Giulia were just fighting all the way backstage, leaving the match to be a one on one fight between Cora and Kelani.
Result: Cora Jade and Roxanne Perez by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.50 Stars
Overall…
NXT followed up Deadline with a good show this week. Starting with the match quality, it was a bit up and down in this episode. We had a great contest between Wes Lee and Je’Von Evans, but the theme of the matches seemed to be miscommunication as this issue was quite obvious in a few contests. The main event was a fun way to finish off the show, with Cora Jade once again showing off her improvement from an in-ring perspective. Storytelling was fairly strong this week, there were some good segments like Trick and Oba finally facing off. While the return of Shotzi was a very welcome surprise, Shotzi coming back to NXT makes the women’s division even stronger. Hopefully a faction with Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolan is on the horizon. Fraxiom’s story is one of the highlights of NXT each week, as Axiom now has to face Oba Femi and defend the tag titles against Gallus next week. Then the fantastic character development of Ethan Page continued, he seems to have lost his confidence and it will be interesting to see how he finds it again. Was this show the best way to follow up on Deadline? Not really, but it did a good job of advancing some storylines, while making good starts to new chapters in the NXT book.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.5/1 Stars
Atmosphere/Crowd/Commentary: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.75/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
For inquiries about the rating criteria check out the article announcing the new system here:
