‘WWE NXT’ Review (Jan 17th 2023)
Welcome to this week’s review of NXT, right here on Nerdly. This is the follow-up to last week’s New Year’s Evil special, so let’s get into the review…
Match #1: Apollo Crews & Axiom def. Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Four of NXT’s most athletic and dynamic Superstars faced off as Apollo Crews & Axiom joined forces to take on the team of Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams. Each Superstar showed off their scintillating offense with a number of acrobatic aerial moves and tandem offense on full display. Hayes had Crews down in the middle of the ring but as he went for Nothing But Net, but Crews countered it into a pinfall and earned the stunning win for his team.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #2: Sol Ruca def. Alba Fyre
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
As one of the fastest rising Superstars in all of NXT, Sol Ruca was looking for her big moment and it finally came against Alba Fyre. The mat technician skills of Fyre kept the uber-athletic Ruca off-balance, but Isla Dawn appeared and distracted Fyre, leading to Ruca hitting the devastating Sol Snatcher and walking away with the victory.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #3: Gallus def. Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs were out to settle the score between them and Mark Coffey & Wolfgang after the two of them made their shocking return to NXT, laid Brooks & Jensen out, and replaced them during the Tag Team Gauntlet Match. The match became a hard-hitting affair with Jensen taking the brunt of the damage, culminating in him absorbing a back body drop onto the exposed floor on the outside. Now at it alone, Briggs was no match for Gallus and a powerslam head kick combo gave Coffey & Wolfgang the win.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #4: Thea Hail def. Valentina Feroz
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
One of Chase U’s star pupils Thea Hail took to the ring against Valentina Feroz looking for a big win amidst a lot of internal turmoil in her school. As the two Superstars battled it out in the ring, Elektra Lopez appeared and attempted to give Feroz a pair of brass knuckles, but she refused to use them and that moment of hesitation allowed Hail to recover a driving face buster, giving her the first NXT victory in her young career.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #5: Tyler Bate def. Javier Bernal
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The Big Strong Boy Tyler Bate made his triumphant return to NXT, but he was met with a fight from Javier Bernal. Despite Bernal’s best efforts, Bate used his unorthodox offense to keep Big Body Javy off-balance, including precision strikes, uppercuts from the second rope, as well as a catch and release suplex. As the match wore on, Bernal managed to counter the Tyler Driver ’97 twice, but the third time was the charm for Bate as he finished off a very game Bernal.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #6: Roxanne Perez & Lyra Valkyria def. Toxic Attraction
The following is courtesy of wwe.com:
The NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez teamed up with Lyra Valkyria to take Toxic Attraction after the duo attacked Valkyria earlier in the night. As the No. 1 Contenders for the title and a Triple Threat Match at Vengeance Day looming, both Gigi Dolin & Jacy Jayne looked to prove a point against the Champion. After Toxic Attraction used their tandem offense to take out Perez, Valkyria finally tagged in to even the score, but Cora Jade appeared and the two of them fought their way to the back, leaving Perez all alone in the ring with Dolin & Jayne. Just as Jayne lined up a big boot, she seemingly landed an accidental hit on Dolin instead, allowing Perez to knock her out of the ring. Perez would hit Pop Rox on Dolin, and leave the ring with the win over both women.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Final Verdict: 2.5/5
Well this was average wasn’t it?! The show opened strong but the whole thing went downhill into mediocrity and didn’t managed to claw it’s way out at all. And having just had New Year’s Evil we’re ALREADY building to Vengeance Day… Good god, can we slow down on the “premium events” already? Hey, at least we got Tyler Bate back on WWE programming!
