Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 1.24.23

Hello, everyone and welcome to our live WWE NXT coverage on 411! I’m Jeremy Thomas, here as always, and 2023 took a rough turn last week in the wrestling world with the tragic passing of Jay Briscoe. I’m not gonna lie; covering last week’s NXT was a little bit rough because of the news hitting early in the show. It’s a new week, and tonight’s episode will lean heavily on the women’s division as Kayden Carter and Katana Chance defend the NXT Women’s Tag Team Titles against Alba Fyre and eventually, Isla Dawn by herself, while Roxanna Perez will have a “Championship Summit” with Toxic Attraction ahead of their match at NXT Vengeance Day. Thea Hail will have a celebration of getting her first win last week, Tiffany Stratton and Indi Hartwell go one-on-one, and Wendy Choo takes on Elektra Lopez. Plus we’ll probably have more between Grayson Waller & Bron Breakker among other things.

Things stay busy here at Thomas HQ in 2020, where I have shared the first half of my top 20 films of 2022 as you can read here. Part two is coming soon! In terms of what I’ve seen over the past week, there was a little bit of last minute catch-up for 2022 as I watched Park Chan-wook’s enchanting romantic neo-noir mystery Decision to Leave, then forged ahead right into 2020 with the mediocre but not-terrible House Party and the amusing little horror rom-com Sorry ABout the Demon on Shudder. Shin Ultraman is entirely not my thing but I appreciated what it brought; Skinamarink is a film that a lot of people will HATE but I found myself enraptured in it and appropriately disturbed.

I did some older noir rewatches as well, checking out one of my all-time favorites in Strange Days and revisiting Sin City which holds up… mostly well. And finally for film, I watched the Netflix documentary Into the Deep: The Submarine Murder Case which was absorbing but seemed a touch incomplete, and I plan to watch the HBO Max two-part docuseries on it as well. In terms of TV I finished off Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street which is an upper-tier Netflix docusries.

Anyway, we’re gonna have a lot to cover tonight so let’s hop right in.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We kick off with video from Grayson Waller arriving at the Performance Center to “have some fun” with Bron Breakker, saying that he never comes to the PC because he doesn’t need to but he’s here now. He walks in and calls out Bron, telling someone to film it as he starts talking shit. He calls Bron out and grabs water bottles to chuck and Bron, and Bron comes down to get in his face. Bron takes him down and it turns into a pull-apart brawl, with multiple people holding both back.

* We’re LIVE in the Capitol Wrestling Center! And here comes Indi Hartwell for our first match. She says Tiffany is going to pay with an ass whuppin’!

Indi Hartwell vs. Tiffany Stratton

Indi attacks outside the ring before the match starts, then starts driving shoulders in in the corner once the bell rings. She tosses Stratton a couple times and hits a dropkick for two. Stratton tries to beg off and offers a hand — Indi grabs it, slams Tiffany down and stomps on her hand!

Indi moves in but Stratton trips her into the second rope. Indi turns it around with a roll-up for two and then sends her to the outside. She grabs Tiff on the apron but Stratton snaps the arm on the top rope and hits a senton for two. Wristlock snapp from Stratton, who starts talking shit. Indi fires back but gets laid out on the middle rope, and Tiff with a hip check and cover for two.

Top wristlock from Stratton, Indi gets to her feet but gets yanked back down. Kneelift to Indi and a whip into the corner, handspring elbow splash and a takedown. Cover gets two. Right back into the top wristlock, Indi gets to her feet but is yanked back to the mat. She waves off the referee and fights back to her feet — and Tiff yanks her back down again. One more time with the sequence, and Indi finally snapmares to break the hold. Indi with shots to Tiff and a clothesline followed by a spinebuster for two.

Indi puts Tiff on the apron and kicks her in the head. Whip into the corner, Tiff up and over but gets kicked in the knee — big boot by Indi! She lies in wait as Tiffany plays the hurt knee card. The ref backs Indi off and checks on Stratton. An official is coming out here — and Tiff gets a cheap shot! Fireman’s carry into a senton slam and a moonsault finishes it.

Winner: Tiffany Stratton (6:06)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: Perfectly fine match, one of Indi’s better singles bouts in a little while. Stratton winning was obvious, she’s improved nicely during her time off.

* We get a recap from Jacy nailing Gigi last week which allowed Roxy to get the tag win over them. McKenzie is backstage with Jacy, who says her biggest problem is McKenzie calling Gigi her partner. She says it was an awakening and she’s been carrying Gigi, but she’s done. She says Gigi has done nothing but anchor her down for too long, and she won’t let Gigi stop her from becoming NXT Women’s Champion. McKenzie asks what to expect tonight, and she says nothing we’ve ever seen before.

* Thea Hail is ready for her award ceremony, which is next!

* Earlier this week: Ivy Nile brought Drew Gulak and his crew in to train with the Creeds for their match with Indus Sher. Julius and Brutus wrangle with the talent as Drew gives Hank Walker advice. They finish up and Gulak reads one of the guys the riot act. Walker wants to try and Drew says he’s gonna do it. He grapples with Julius and gets tripped. Drew snaps and shoves Julius, calling it a cheap shot and saying this isn’t finished.

* It’s time for Chase U! Andre Chase is in full school gear and he addresses the esteemed members of the Chase U cheering section, the guests, the WWE Universe and everyone else. Chase says we have assembled to recognize someone who’s worked extremely hard and has excelled in the classroom but didn’t havr the same success in the ring. But that changed last week. (Hail is amazing through all of this.) She looked fear in the eye and didn’t blink: she said, ‘Fear, you don’t scare me motherfucker!” Hail and Duke stop him and the crowd chants “That’s not PG!”

Chase presents the award for first victory to Thea, who poses for a picture with Chase while Duke photobombs them. Hail thanks everyone and says she loves everyone.

And here comes JD McDonagh to interrupt! JD saks if this is what we’re doing, and how far the standard has slipped? All this for one win — it’s participation awards in NXT now? JD tells Thea he’s a nice guy and is going to give her some life advice — when you hang around with losers, a win means a lot. She says the fans chearing are losers too, and Thea goes Tasmanian Devil and has to be held back by Duke.

Chase says he’s not going to let JD drag Chase U’s rep down. JD questions whether Chase U means as much to Duke and says he’s not some wet behind the ears student and it’s time to end this charade, because he’s dressed for a fight and Chase is dressed like a moron. Chase says he teaches his students to always be prepared, so he’s going to give JD an Chase U-sized ass whuppin! He lays into JD and sends him to the outside as we go to break.

Andre Chase vs. JD McDonagh

This match is joined in progress as JD takes Chase down and covers him for a couple of two-counts. JD with a laying headlock to wear Chase down, but Chase to his feet and shots JD intot he ropes to reverse. JD does the same but Chase with a back suplex to JD.

They trade shots before Chase takes over and hits an inverted atomic drop. Side Russian legsweep by Chase, followed by the Chase U stomps. Sitout uranage by Chase, he covers for two. JD manages a jacknife pin, but Chase bridges out for a backslide and two-count. JD with a backdrop and a clothesline, but Chase manages another rollup for a nearfall.

Chase laying into JD with shots to the head, but JD with a backkick. Chase with a high knee lift and JD right back with a headbutt! He picks Chase up and pulls him up but Chase counters it into a Canadian Destroyer for two!

Chase now going up top, but JD runs into the ropes and crotches Chase. A frustrated Duke walks off, JD with the Devil Inside for three.

Winner: JD McDonagh (4:33)
Rating: ** 1/2
Thoughts: Solid match that was hurt by the joined-in-progress nature.

* Fallon, Briggs & Jensen walk up to Kiana and say they’re ready to go. Kiana wants to start the match but backtracks when that doesn’t seem to fly.

Kiana James & Fallon Henley vs. Ivy Nile & Tatum Paxley

Kiana starts against Ivy, but Fallon and her have miscommunication when Fallon tags in. Nile takes over on Henley and takes her down to the mat with some grappling for one. Paxley tags in, double wristlock slam down. Paxley kicks Henley back, springboard dropkick for two.

Henley back up and locks in a headlock, James tags in and they lay out Paxley with a kick. James kicks at Paxley in the corner, handsprings back and drives the shoulder in. Abdominal stretch by Paxley in the center of the ring, Paxley breaks free but James prevents her from making the tag.

Paxley kicks her off and both tags are made, Nile comes in hot and tackles Fallon down a couple times, hitting a splash in the corner. She goes in a second time but Fallon blocks her, James causes a ref distraction and slams Nile down. Nile gets tripped, Fallon nails Nile with a Shining Wizard and covers for three.

Winner: Fallon Henley & Kiana James (3:21)
Rating: ** 1/4
Thoughts: Not much of a match, it had barely any time and was there mostly for the angle development.

* Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are chilling backstage when Edris and Malik come up and say they’ve learned a lot from them. Kofi and Xavier say they’re doing great, and Edris makes a play for a title shot. In come Schism, and they want a title match. Woods says next week is the New Day Tag Team Invitational, and the winner joins the NXT Tag Team Championship match at Vengeance Day. Everyone leaves and New Day sing.

* Bron Breakker is walking into the building. But next is Apollo Crews!

* We’re at the barber shop and Apollo Crews has arrived. The barber says he doesn’t think Melo and Trick will be happy he’s there, but Crews says he knows it’s not a one-and-done with Melo. Melo and Trick walk in and are pissed Crews is there. Crews says he wants to talk and says Melo is starting to realize he’s not rid of him. They’re two men, and there’s one spot.

Melo says it must be tough looking at him: a younger, better, more athletic version of himself. He says Crews is close to getting what he wants, but he’s standing in Crews’ way. Crews says the title would look good around Melo’s waist but it looks better around his. Crews says they’ve got a win against each other and suggests two of three falls at Vengeance Day. Melo says bet. He tells Crews that he’s gonna get Money Melo. Crews is the past and he’s the present. Crews says the past can always predict the future, and gets up to walk off.

Hank Walker & Drew Gulak vs. The Creed Brothers

Gulak stars with Julius, and Creed with the takedown. He controls Gulak and trips him when he gets to his feet; Gulak takes Julius down and thgen goes into a La Magistral cradle for two. Gulak with a wristlock and he tags in Walker, who drives the shoulder in and controls Julius. Hank with a snapmare and armdrag, but Julius back with a fireman’s carry takedown.

Brutus tags in and they whip Hank into fireman’s carry takedowns between them. Walker sends Julius into the ropes and runs him over, Gulak tags in. Gulak takes out Brutus and Walker spins Julius before dropping him into a shot as we go to PIP break.

We’re back with Gulak just slapping Brutus, but Brutus comes back and takes Drew down, Hulk Smashing him repeatedly. Gulak gets up and dropkicks Brutus, then hits a big DDT. Julius and Hank tag in, Julius with a spinning heel kick and he knocks Hank down, then grabs Drew for a belly to belly. Moonsaults to Hank from both Creeds, cover for two.

Brutus grabs Hank’s foot, but he kicks free and tags Gulak who goes up top but gets grabbed by Brutus. Double underhook, he holds Drew up and tags in Julius for a leapfrog slam. Cover but Hank breaks it up and all four men are down in the ring!

Julius and Drew are now trading shots on their knees, they get up and continue it. Drew with a headlock and tags in Hank, fireman’s carry and Drew off the ropes but gets pounced by Brutus. Julius caught and planted by Hank, wheelbarrow into a powerbomb and he goes for the armlock! Julius rolls him into a two-count and Walker breaks the hold.

Brutus tags in but Walker with a headlock, Brutus gets free and they hit a double clothesline! Both men down in the ring, but Drew is distracted by Charlie Dempsey. He drops off the apron and tels Hank he’s got it. Hank catches Julius with an elbow and big boot, he goes for a kick but Julius catches him and hits a belly-to-belly. Brutus up top, he hits a Brutus Ball for three.

Winner: The Creed Brothers (11:43)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: That was pretty bad-ass. Walker is improving quite a bit and the Creeds and Gulak were great. I dug the hell out of this.
Julius tells Ivy after that he knows he can be a pain in the ass and always has a chip on his shoulder. He says everyone’s laughing because they know it’s true, but that’s how he knows he’s the best of himself. He thanks Ivy for setting them straight, and Brutus says Ivy could have walked away but she stuck with them and she inspired them to be the old Creeds who won the NXT Tag Team Championships.

And here comes Indus Sher! They’re out with Jinder, who congratulates the Creeds for once again becoming the Creeds. He says his brothers are tired of trying to earn respect so they’re taking it. The challenge is laid out for next week. Ivy says, “You’re on!”

* Gigi is backstage with McKenzie, who asks about Jacy’s comments. Gigi says she’s surprised but not shocked because Jacy always casts stones first and is a bad person. She’s nothing like Jacy — she’s a bit dark, but she asks what she’s holding? A rose. And the sharp things are thorns. Thorns can be dangerous if you’re distracted by the petals, but they’re not hiding, and she can’t wait to give Jacy a piece of her mind.

* Tony D and Stacks walk into a restaurant where they have a private room. Tony is impressed and says the family is happy about the news. The streets are talking about the new underboss, and Stacks wants to take on the biggest guy he can find. Tony asks if he’s ready for that, and he says yes. Tony agrees. Stacks toasts to the Don, and Tony toasts to the new underboss.

Wendy Choo vs. Elektra Lopez

Valentina Feroz is out for this. Lopez backs Wendy into the corner off a lockup, and then knocks her down. She says Wendy doesn’t belong here and Wendy attacks but gets gutwrench suplexed. Wendy is out of the ring and Elektra throws the body pillow at her, but she ducks.

Elektra rolls Wendy back in and sends her into the ropes, Wendy with a dropkick. She hits a charging big boot in the corner and runs in for a crossbody, but Lopez catches her for a swinging uranage. Elektra boot chokes Wendy against the bottom rope and runs her over. Elbow drop and cover for two.

Lopez locks in a bodyscissors and wears Wendy down, Wendy backs Lopez’s shoulders to the mat for two. Lopez tightens the bodyscissors, Choo with a back elbow to break the hold. Choo fires off with shots and runs Elektra over. Middle rope crossbody for two. Lopez manages to sneak brass knucks out and knocks out a charging Choo for three.

Winner: Elektra Lopez (3:32)
Rating: **
Thoughts: Barely a match.

* Fallon doesn’t know how they won tonight, but they did. Brooks comes in and says he walked into Shawn Michaels’ office, and got Fallon and Kiana an NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship match. Fallon says it was supposed to be a one-time thing and feels blindsided; she has to think about it.

* Grayson Waller is walking into the arena!

* Elektra tells Valentina it doesn’t matter how you win; it’s that you win. Valentina says Wendy is her friend, and Elektra says she can keep her friends, Elektra will just keep winning.

* McKenzie says that she’s been no-showed for her interview with Stevie Hunter, and she appears on the screen. She has some chats from fans. A fan asks when she’ll be in the ring, and she says next week. McKenzie asks who her opponent will be, and she ignores that for a superchat about who she most looks forward to facing. Stevie says Roxy, but she suspects Roxy will lose the title at Vengeance Day.

* Grayson Waller is out to the ring! He says he doesn’t have time for games and asks where Bron is. He says he punked Bron out and had him shaking, and he showed the world he’s tougher than Bron. He asks where Bron is tonight and promises there’s no steel plate under the jacket — just “his” NXT Championship. In the back, Bron grabs his title and walks.

Waller says the countdown is on — 11 days until he’s NXT Champion. Bron walks and people are worried. Waller says Bron has to win or it’ll haunt his dreams for the rest of his life and every second of every day he’ll be dreaming of his face. He says he made a viral moment and it’s time for one more.

Bron shoves off some officials and walks out as the locker room tries to hold him back. Bron runs into the ring and tackles Waller, and the locker room holds them back from each other. Waller slips out of the ring and Bron goes after him. They brawl as the roster tries to hold him back, and Bron takes out the locker guys before charging at Waller — who moves, and Bron goes through the guardrail! The crowd chants “Holy Shit” as a grinning Waller dashes off and officials tend to Bron.

* Gallus plays pool in a bar, and Coffey says it’s a shame they don’t have a Glasgow bar to do this in. Wolfgang says they need to have their eyes on the prize: Vengeance Day. They’re going to show three other teams what everyone else knows: Gallus Boys on top.

* We get a recap of Bron running through the guardrail, which has been repaired.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship Match
Kayden Carter & Katana Chance vs. Alba Fyre

Fyre is ready to start with Carter — and here comes Sol Ruca! She says she has Alba’s back and gets on the apron. Carter armdrags Alba, and Fyre fires back with a kick before going for an early Fyre Bomb that Carter counters out of, but Alba knocks her down. Carter kicks Fyre back and hits an enzuigiri, Chance tags in and they do their tandem trip, kick, and senton for two.

Fyre turns it around and lays into Carter. Carter with a jawbreaker, Sol tags herself in and runs Carter over. She handsprings over Carter, they do some more acrobatics and Ruca with a split-legged stunner that sends Carter out of the ring. Fyre grabs Chance and sends her into the ring steps as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Chance tries to elbow her way out of a waistlock from Sol, Sol eventually tags in ALba and Carter tags in for the hot tag. She splashes Alba, then splashes Sol and drops into a senton on Alba. Charging kick by Carter, Chance tags in and hits a kick on Alba through the ropes for two.

Fyre tries to fight back but Chance and Carter both kick her, Carter pulls Chance onto her shoulders for a splash that gets a nearfall. Alba takes out chance and drops Carter with a front suplex, Ruca with a springboard splash for two but Chance breaks it up. Alba grabs Chance but gets hit with a headscissors, then in the ring Carter hits a sunset flip bomb and a kick to the head. Chance tags in, they hit their finisher for three.

Winner: Kayden Carter & Katana Chance (7:59)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Good match, though there was never a question of who would win. Not sure where Sol and Alba are going right now, I assume to a match when Fyre attacks Sol but we’ll see.

Alba looks pissed at Sol and walks right past her — and there’s Isla at the entrance. She laughs and Alba walks past, with Isla following. Meanwhile, Kiana and Fallon appear on the upper stage and says she thought about it, and the match is official.

* Dijak is ion his dark place when Wes Lee walks up. Dijak says it’s his last chance to hand over the title. Wes says handing it over can save him a lot of pain at Vengeance Day, but he’s made him stupid decisions his whole life. Stupid enough to risk everything to get to the WWE, battle tooth and nail against himself and the best NXT has to offer. So no, he’s going to keep his title. Dijak doesn’t have to like it, but he’ll damn sure respect it. He leaves and Dijak says he deals in justice, not sob stories.

* McKenzie goes to talk to Cora and asks about her issue with Lyra Valkyria. Cora says Lyra will be an integral part of the women’s division but needs to learn her place. She’s not better than her and never will be. Cora is losing her shit over a feather in her locker and we go to the parking lot where Nikkita Lyons apparently got hurt as a car drove away.

* Chase and Thea are shocked by what happened when Duke walks in. He says Chase is an inspiration, and he left the ringside but walked straight into HBK’s office and demanded that he put them in the match for the shot at the NXT Tag Team Titles, and he said talk to the New Day. And what did the New Day say? They loved the architecture of Chase U — on yeah, and they’re in.

* Nikkita Lyons has been taken to a local medical facility.

Set For Next Week:
– NXT Tag Title Match Qualifier: Dyad vs. Blade & Enofe vs. Chase U
– The Creed Brothers vs. Indus Sher
– Cora Jade vs. Lyra Valkyria

* Booker T is with Gigi and Jacy for the Women’s Championship summit — and here comes Roxy! Booker invites her to have a seat and says let’s get right down to it. He asks Gigi to start.

Gigi says she’s sure Jacy would like to start and tells Jacy to talk about how great she is. Jacy says everyone knows that, but they’ve seen her carry Gigi for years. She says last week’s kick was accidental but she wishes it wasn’t. She says it if wasn’t for her Jacy would be another YouTube sensation one-hit wonder living on the indy scene.

Gigi says that what everyone doesn’t know is that behind the curtains, Jacy is the most insecure person she’s ever met. She wasn’t going to bring this up but Jacy gets so nervous she has to puke before every match. Jacy says nothing Gigi says is try because she’s a pathological liar. Gigi says who’s going to hold Jacy’s hair while she pukes at Vengeance Day?

Roxy says she wants popcorn because she’s enjoying the hell out of this. They’ve mocked everyone in the locker room and made her life a living hell, so she’s glad they’re feeling the same way they’ve made everyone else feel. Karma is a toxic bitch. She thought it was going to be a handicap match at Vengeance Day but it looks like it will be a real triple threat.

Gigi says Roxy will become the shortest-reigning NXT Women’s Champion of all time and she doesn’t have to pin Roxy — she just has to pin Jacy. Jacy says it’s not Toxic Attraction and everyone else — there’s Jacy Jayne and everyone else. Gigi says Jacy is holding onto Toxic Attraction because that’s all she has. They get up and start screaming at each other — then smile and grab Roxy, beating on her and double slamming her through the table. Jacy and Gigi hold the title up together over Roxy’s body.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

The matches for this week's NXT were far from the most memorable, but all in all I thought this was a pretty competent episode. Nothing was particularly unwatchable and the show-finishing segment was very strong, giving Gigi and Jacy some momentum for Vengeance Day. This isn't must-see NXT by any measure, but it delivered nicely on the build to Vengeance Day and that's good enough for me.