NXT Review: 01/07

Linus O'Howell
Jul 2
4 min read

Joe Hendry VS Wes Lee

Trick Williams’ music hit to start this week’s edition of NXT as the TNA World Champion joined commentary for the opening match of the night between Wes Lee and Joe Hendry! This was a decent start to the show, both men can go in the ring, and Joe had the added issue of having to deal with the rest of The High Ryze! Hendry is unbelievably over, still, but Wes Lee was the best Babyface in the entire company at one point, and I feel like Wes desperately needs to get back to that! Towards the end of the match, Tyson and Tyriek tried to get involved once again, but they got dealt with by Mike Santana, opening the door for Hendry to hit the Standing Ovation onto Lee to get the win! Nice!

Grade: B-

Luca Crusifino Calls Out Tony D’Angelo, Lexis King VS Myles Borne, Thea Hail VS Lainey Reid

Zaria wasn’t very impressed with Tatum Paxley’s belief in wanting to be friends with Izzi Dame, and this set up a Tag Team match for later as Izzi once again did a good job of convincing Paxley! Luca Crusifino was then out next to quickly call out Tony D’Angelo, saying that he needed to talk! Luca pulled out a couple of really good points as to how much loyalty he has shown to Tony D, but Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo then showed up, once again putting doubt in the mind of The Don! Tony then said some more things, and this led him to getting laid out by Crusifino to the delight of Stacks, only for Luca to do the same to Lorenzo! This was a twist I didn’t see coming, I thought Luca would at least go with one of them, but I honestly don’t blame him one bit!

Grade: C+

Oba Femi said he’s excited to find out who his next challenger is before Yoshiki Inamura made it clear that he’d be seeing The Ruler at NXT The Great American Bash! Myles Borne was then ready for his first outing since leaving the No Quarter Catch Crew as he took on Lexis King! This was solid, Lexis King had brand-new gear, it was alright, and Myles Borne had new entrance music, which was also alright! As expected, Myles won here, but with a new finisher too as Borne delivered a Zig-Zag to score the win!

Grade: C+

After DarkState said they again have their next target acquired, Thea Hail made her way down to the ring as she was set to go one-on-one with Lainey Reid! Thea was very aggressive, taking all her anger out on Lainey after having been cost an opportunity to fight for the NXT Women’s Championship at Evolution, and I have to say I liked it! Reid is clearly a Heel; she kept trying to cheat to win, and eventually, she did as Lainey scored the win whilst holding onto the bottom rope! Also, Thea’s arm was under the bottom rope, so this referee should be fired for incompetence!

Grade: C+

Sol Ruca and Zaria VS Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley, Jasper Troy VS Yoshiki Inamura: NXT Championship Number 1 Contender’s Match

Tavion Heights got himself a match with Charlie Dempsey to potentially leave the No Quarter Catch Crew (just like Myles Borne did) before Jasper Troy said he’s coming for the NXT Championship! Sol Ruca and Zaria were then back to teaming up again as they took on the duo of Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley! Izzi and Tatum worked well together, Paxley is used to working as a Tag Team competitor, and Zaria and Sol Ruca are also really good together! However, it was the teamwork of Paxley and Dame that proved to be the most effective, with Tatum pushing Izzi out of the way, meaning Zaria delivered a Spear to her own partner before Izzi Dame dropped Sol Ruca to score the win and pin the NXT Women’s North American Champion!

Grade: C+

Ethan Page told Ricky Saints that he has to go through “The Vanity Project Gauntlet” next week if he wants another shot at the NXT North American Championship, but Saints agreed as long as he gets to pick the stipulation when he wins! Ava agreed to all of this! Andre Chase then agreed to listen to Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors surrounding his teaching methods before Joe Hendry and Mike Santana made it clear that they don’t like each other, they just want to take the TNA World Championship back home! Ava then told Izzi Dame that she will get a shot at Sol Ruca and the NXT Women’s North American Championship at The Great American Bash before Hank and Tank got angry at The Culling, resulting in Tatum Paxley getting them to defend their NXT Tag Team Titles next week! It was then time for the Main Event match of the night as Jasper Troy and Yoshiki Inamura collided for the right to go on to face Oba Femi for the NXT Championship at NXT The Great American Bash! This was a hard-hitting clash, Jasper Troy is alright; he’s not nearly Main Event level yet, though, but I do like Yoshiki Inamura; he’s good to watch! Inamura also wanted to do this alone, telling Josh Briggs before the match not to come out, and it proved to work as Yoshiki delivered his trademark Splash to get the win, handing Troy another defeat!

Grade: C+

Jordynne Grace Closes the Show

The final segment on this week’s edition of NXT saw Jordynne Grace come out to cut a promo about whether she belongs in the WWE, and how she wants to make history at Evolution! This brought out Fatal Influence, who laughed this off, with Jacy Jayne saying she will retain at Evolution before a 2-on-1 assault broke out! This resulted in Blake Monroe running down to make the save, doing a much better job than Penta, before Ava came out to announce a Tag Team Match for NXT TGAB! That should be good!