NXT Review: 09/09
- Linus O'Howell
- Sep 10
- 5 min read
Je’Von Evans VS Josh Briggs
This week’s NXT started off hot as Je’Von Evans quickly called out Josh Briggs to get their match underway as soon as possible! Ava wasn’t very impressed with any of this, but the referee still called for the bell as we got a really good match between these two talented performers! Je’Von is absolutely sensational, he’s one of my favourite in-ring workers to watch, whilst Josh Briggs is severely underrated; he consistently puts on good matches! I wasn’t sure which way this match was going to go, either, which always makes for better viewing, and in the end, it was Briggs’ killer instinct to cheat that helped him get over the line, nailing Evans with a loaded fist to the jaw!
Grade: B
Trick Williams Has Backup, Faby Apache VS Lainey Reid: NXT Women’s Speed Championship Tournament (Round 1)
Oba Femi wasn’t impressed with Ricky Saints backstage, and this is when Ava told them that they’d both be appearing on The Grayson Waller Effect next week (Oba was even less impressed)! DIY were then out next to reminisce on their 10-year anniversary since their debut Tag Team match, and how NXT will forever be their home! This brought out Trick Williams who said the difference between this week and last week is that this week, he’s not alone! This is when Carmelo Hayes made a surprise return to NXT, having not been seen on the brand since his Steel Cage match with Trick back in April 2024! Thankfully, Melo didn’t act like him and Trick were friends again, in fact, Hayes put Williams in his place, reminding him of who truly is NXT’s Greatest! DIY then butted in to the annoyance of both Williams and Hayes, resulting in a Tag Team match being made for NXT Homecoming! I have to say, whilst I would’ve preferred them to have kept their distance, I think this segment turned out a lot better than I thought it would, Trick Melo Gang VS DIY is a pretty huge match, and to be honest, it’s so good seeing Carmelo Hayes on NXT, he just has aura in that building!
Grade: B+
It was then time for another match in the NXT Women’s Speed Championship Tournament as Lainey Reid took on AAA’s Faby Apache! Natalya was in the crowd for this one as she will face Faby at World’s Collide this Friday, and as expected, her presence was more than just her watching the action! Now, after about 2 and a half minutes, Nattie distracted Apache, opening the door for Reid to score the win and advance to the Number 1 Contender’s Match! Like I said last week, I’m not sure this Speed gimmick works for me, and I also continue to expect Lainey Reid to win the Title and get recruited to Fatal Influence!
Grade: C
NXT Tag Team Championships: DarkState VS Hank and Tank, Ethan Page VS Tavion Heights: Flag Match
ZaRuca, and Hank and Tank hyped each other up backstage before we got a much darker version of Blake Monroe! That’s probably a good thing, I think she’ll do better in this role! Anyway, it was all about Championships next as Hank and Tank looked to reclaim their NXT Tag Team Titles from DarkState! Hank and Tank started this match off hot, going all out straight away, but Dion Lennox was able to break up the pinfall! The rest of the match was decent enough, not too much happened in terms of great moments, but it wasn’t weak either! The best bit again came when Cutler James said “Joe Hendry”, and this week, Joe broke through the podium/platform area like he’s Captain America, but unlike last week, Hendry proved to be the problem as the referee had to deal with him, opening the door for DarkState to use the numbers to walk out “and still”! These Joe Hendry appearances are so stupid, and yet I love them every time!
Grade: B-
Lexis King was talking about Myles Borne to Charlie Dempsey before Myles showed up, turned the lights off, and bashed Lexis with a steel chair! He should get suspended for that! Anyway, Ethan Page was then in the ring as he was set to go one-on-one with Tavion Heights in a “Flag Match”! The point of this match was simple: whoever grabs their flag and waves it around first gets the win! Unfortunately, this concept is not that exciting, and I didn’t enjoy this at all! I don’t know why these two couldn’t have just had a normal match, it would’ve been an awful lot better, but I guess not! In the end, Heights was able to grab his flag first to get the win before he draped the Canadian flag over the NXT North American Champion! However, we then got an amazing surprise as Tyler Breeze showed up from out of absolutely nowhere to signal his intentions for NXT Homecoming! This was definitely not an arrival I was expecting, but it’s awesome to see Breeze back, and the fact that he’s fighting Ethan Page next week makes it even better!
Grade: C- for the Match, B for Breeze
WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships Number 1 Contender’s Elimination Match: ZaRuca VS Fatal Influence VS The Culling
After we got another video highlighting the life of Lola Vice, it was Main Event time as ZaRuca, The Culling, and Fatal Influence clashed in a Triple Threat Tag Team Elimination Match to determine the Number 1 Contenders for the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships! On top of that, that match is taking place at NXT Homecoming next week, so the stakes were even higher! I actually thought this was a pretty good match; everyone did a good job of once again showing why NXT owns the Best Women’s Division in the World! I thought Jazmyn Nyx looked particularly strong; she’s doing very well at the moment, and Fallon Henley, Sol Ruca, and Tatum Paxley are always great! I particularly liked the first elimination of this match, as Ruca accidentally nailed Zaria with a Sol Snatcher, allowing Jazmyn Nyx to eliminate them! Not only was this a great use of Sol’s finishing move, but the timing from everyone involved was perfect! Speaking of perfect, The Culling’s cohesion is very much heading that way as Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley nailed Fallon with their finishing move to get the win, earning themselves a Title opportunity at Homecoming! After the match was over, Jacy Jayne berated the rest of Fatal Influence, calling them “failures”, before Stephanie Vaquer showed up to a big reaction! However, Stephanie wasn’t alone as she brought out both Tiffany Stratton and Rhea Ripley to an even bigger reaction, setting up a 6-Woman Tag for next week! The match was good, and the ending was great! I would’ve preferred to have seen Iyo Sky, but Ripley, Stratton, and Vaquer do represent three different eras of NXT!
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