NXT continued the build towards Vengeance Day with a good show this week. Despite some questionable booking decisions, there was a good level of quality with the matches as Stephanie Vaquer and Jacy Jane opened the show with a bout that heavily showcased both women’s star quality. While the main event did a great job of telling multiple stories at once, making A-Town Down Under actually look like a credible threat to Oba Femi’s title reign in Washington, DC. As mentioned, there were some bumps in terms of storytelling this week, as although Roxanne Perez and Bayley had a great promo exchange, they didn’t really put over their NXT Women’s Championship match, if anything I’m more interested in a singles match between those two than I am with the triple threat contest we are getting. Then there was one of the strangest booking decisions I’ve seen all year, having the result of a match overturned because the winner in Kelani Jordan continued to attack Karmen Petrovic after their bout. This didn’t make sense to me, and what should’ve been a big moment for Jordan ended up being overshadowed by the ending. The three-man commentary table continues to work surprisingly well, as Corey Graves has cemented himself as a great addition to NXT. Definitely a seesaw show for the developmental brand this week, but the stories leading into Vengeance Day were told very well for the most part and added a good level of excitement to the Premium Live Event.
We are back with another NXT review, as we count down the days towards Vengeance Day. On this week’s show, Giulia, Bayley and Roxanne Perez take part in a ‘Vengeance Day Summit’ before their clash in an NXT Women’s Championship match. Stephanie Vaquer looks to get revenge on Jacy Jane. Oba Femi and Trick Williams are forced to team up, to face A-Town Down Under. Let’s get into the review!
GREAT Stephanie Vaquer vs Jacy Jane
Stephanie Vaquer takes some momentum with her into Vengeance Day, after a very competitive match with Fallon Henley’s Fatal Influence teammate, Jacy Jane. It is clear to me after watching the Royal Rumble, and especially this match, that Vaquer has perfected how to carry herself like a star. She makes everything she does in the ring look incredibly easy, and she is well overdue a championship win in NXT. Jane provided us with a reminder just how much potential she likewise has in singles competition, a very reliable in-ring worker and someone that just has bundles of charisma. Lively way to kick-off this week’s NXT thanks to probably two of the best in WWE’s women’s division.
Result: Stephanie Vaquer by Pinfall via SVB
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.75 Stars
Zaria started picking some fights backstage, as she made clear to Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson that they let the NXT women’s division down after their loss to Bianca Belair and Naomi. Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolan decided to get involved, so they earned themselves a match with Zaria and Sol Ruca on the show.
GOOD Lexis King Segment
The latest TNA wrestler to make an appearance on NXT TV is Fanda- I mean JDC. Lexis King’s promo started off well, but I think they waited too long to pull the trigger on JDC’s entrance music as the promo started to repeat itself by the end. The main takeaway from it, is that King decided to scrap the regular rules for Heritage Cup matches, instead making it ‘one fall, winner takes all.’ The appearance of JDC was a really cool surprise, he announced that next week he will challenge Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 3.25 Stars
More tension between The Don and Stacks. Tony D’Angelo was showing The Family his recent appearance on the show Wildcards, that’s right Hollywood Don is here. But Stacks revealed his frustration at Tony for talking to Izzi Dame instead of helping The Family in their match.
SQUASH Ridge Holland vs Channing ‘Stacks’ Lorenzo
Ridge Holland made quick work of Stacks this week, although Lorenzo did put up a decent fight. The inclusion of Izzi Dame was the changing factor in this bout, as she tried to help Stacks pick up the win but instead ended up costing him. Shawn Spears and his faction were looking on.
Result: Ridge Holland by Pinfall via The Redeemer
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: Too short to rate
Josh Briggs and Inamura once again asked Fraxiom why they won’t face them in a match for the tag titles. Frazer and Axiom appropriately said that they need to prove why they deserve one.
SQUASH Sol Ruca and Zaria vs Gigi Dolan and Tatum Paxley
Great back and forth quick match between two awesome tag teams, it was a lot of fun and I was kind of hoping the bout would get more time than it did. Sol Ruca and Zaria are a fantastic tag team, high flyers and powerhouses always make for a great combination in wrestling. Looking at how many great tag teams there are in NXT, it is very surprising that WWE didn’t put the Women’s Tag Team Titles on the Meta Girls last week.
Result: Sol Ruca and Zaria by Pinfall via Sol Snatcher
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: Too short to rate
Trick Williams had a backstage interview, in which he said that he doesn’t need to talk strategy with Oba Femi. Instead he is going to show Ava why he deserves to be in the NXT Title match at Vengeance Day.
AMAZING NXT Women’s Championship Summit
This segment actually advanced Bayley and Roxanne Perez’s storyline, more than focusing on the match at Vengeance Day. Roxanne and Bayley’s promo exchange was incredible, with Rox continuing to show how much more confident she is getting on the mic. The reference to her breaking the Women’s Royal Rumble record, which was previously held by Bayley was a nice touch. While Bayley explaining how she was such a big part of NXT’s beginning was brilliant as well. But I don’t get the impression either Bayley or Rox is taking the NXT Women’s Champion seriously, with them instead focusing on their own hatred towards one another. Charlotte Flair arrived and didn’t really add much to the segment, but it is clear now she is definitely leaning more into that heel side.
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
We have another match announced for NXT Vengeance Day… well that is assuming Je’Von Evans can get cleared. But if he can, he has a date with Ethan Page in a couple weeks time.
AVERAGE Karmen Petrovic vs Kelani Jordan
The match had some fine in-ring action, nothing out of this world. Jaida Parker joined Vic, Booker and Corey on commentary midway through the bout. But the end of this match was really odd, Kelani won fair and square and then because she continued to attack Karmen after the match, the decision got reversed and Petrovic was given the win. Really strange booking here.
Result: Karmen Petrovic
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 2.50 Stars
AMAZING A-Town Down Under vs Oba Femi and Trick Williams
The old ‘can they co-exist?’ storyline. Trick Williams and Oba Femi spent all match trying to impress with their individual performances, which ended up costing them the match. There were some great moments in this one, chops were hard-hitting and you could hear them throughout the Performance Centre. Also forget about Super Cena, we’ve got Super Oba now. Femi just effortlessly lifted both Theory and Waller on his shoulders, this really showcased Oba’s freakish strength. Eventually, Eddy Thorpe made his presence known and hit Trick with a strap to cost him and Oba the match. The show finished with a teaser for a new faction seemingly on the way to NXT.
Result: A-Town Down under by Pinfall
Archie Carter WR Star Rating: 4.00 Stars
Overall…
NXT continued the build towards Vengeance Day with a good show this week. Despite some questionable booking decisions, there was a good level of quality with the matches as Stephanie Vaquer and Jacy Jane opened the show with a bout that heavily showcased both women’s star quality. While the main event did a great job of telling multiple stories at once, making A-Town Down Under actually look like a credible threat to Oba Femi’s title reign in Washington, DC. As mentioned, there were some bumps in terms of storytelling this week, as although Roxanne Perez and Bayley had a great promo exchange, they didn’t really put over their NXT Women’s Championship match, if anything I’m more interested in a singles match between those two than I am with the triple threat contest we are getting. Then there was one of the strangest booking decisions I’ve seen all year, having the result of a match overturned because the winner in Kelani Jordan continued to attack Karmen Petrovic after their bout. This didn’t make sense to me, and what should’ve been a big moment for Jordan ended up being overshadowed by the ending. The three-man commentary table continues to work surprisingly well, as Corey Graves has cemented himself as a great addition to NXT. Definitely a seesaw show for the developmental brand this week, but the stories leading into Vengeance Day were told very well for the most part and added a good level of excitement to the Premium Live Event.
Matches: 0.5/1 Stars
Show Structure: 0.75/1 Stars
Atmosphere/Crowd/Commentary: 0.75/1 Stars
Storytelling: 0.5/1 Stars
Production/Theme: 0.75/1 Stars
Overall Rating: 3.25/5 Stars
Photo Credit: WWE
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