By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired January 31, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening match took place. Vic Joseph noted this episode will have “limited commercial interruptions”…
1. “The Creed Brothers” Brutus and Julius Creed (w/Ivy Nile) vs. “Indus Sher” Veer Mahan and Sanga (w/Jinder Mahal). Veer and Julius started out the match with a shortarm slugfest. Sanga and Brutus tagged in. Sanga dominate with shoves and clubbing blows to the back of Brutus. Brutus came back with his own flailing blwos. Veer tagged back in and Indus Sher were able to land power tandem moves. Veer hit Brutus with a high leap elbow drop.
Brutus managed to tackle Veer to his corner. Brutus and Julius traded quick tags to hit Veer with alternating strikes. Julius gave Brutus a Gutwrench Suplex on Veer for a two count. Jinder distracted Julius which allowed Veer to flapjack Julius. Veer and Sanga traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Julius.
Julius got a double leg takedown on Veer, but he tagged Sanga on the fall. Julius managed to take down Sanga, but Veer was able to quickly end that momentum. Sanga put Julius in a Half Nelson clutch. Julius got to the rope for the break, but Sanga continued to work on Julius with strong methodical offense. Sanga hit Julius with a side sweep for a two count. Sanga used his whole body to smash Julius and prevent him from tagging in Brutus.
Julius managed to tag in Brutus after nailing Veer with a enzuigiri. Brutus knocked Sanga off the apron and hit Veer with a Gutwrench suplex. Brutus worked on Veer with overhead ground and pound. Brutus hit Veer with a Standing Moonsault and Julius hit Veer with a standing Shooting Star. Julius tagged in and got a two count. Julius struggled to pick up the big man but managed to hit Veer with a deadlift Gutwrench Suplex for a two count.
Jinder Mahal grabbed Julius by the leg for the distraction. Ivy Nile got in Jinder’s face on the apron. As Julius ran the ropes he accidentally knocked Nile off the apron. This allowed Veer to hit Julius with the Million Dollar Arm lariat. Sanga tagged in and planted Julius with a Chokeslam for the victory.
Indus Sher defeated The Creed Brothers via pinfall in 9:57.
John’s Thoughts: Given the many consequences that prevented this match from happening, I think this was smart usage of a distraction finish. The match itself was hard hitting and ugly in a good way. This is a team of two big ol’ men just clubbing at each other and it lived up to the hype. Not for everyone because it was methodical, but I personally like brutal club fest like this. I liked the distraction finish as it allows them to run it back with five more minutes. I also like Jinder Mahal in the manager role, as long as we don’t have to see him wrestle or cut generic “I hate America” promos.
Axiom and Tyler Bate were watching A-Kid Heritage Cup matches on a tablet. They both talked about how they liked A-Kid as a wrestler and are disappointed that he’s disappeared for some reason. Bate said that Axiom reminds him of A-Kid. Axiom said he has the same style as A Kid and they should both have a match.
Damon Kemp showed up and said that A-Kid is soft hot garbage which he learned from his time in NXT UK. Kemp told Axiom to tell that to A-Kid. Bate said some sort of British curse word directed to Kemp after he left. Axiom wondered what it meant. Bate translated it to spanish by saying “pandejo”. Fun segment…
Entrances for the next match took place. They cut to footage of Indi Hartwell talking to the women’s locker room about how happy she was to be in the Royal Rumble. Zoey Stark showed up and Indi blamed her for attacking Nikkita Lyons. Stark trash talked Indi. Sol Ruca stood up for Indi and said that Indi could kick Stark’s ass. This would set up the next match…
2. Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Stark. Indi dominated with early pressure and right hands. Hartwell dumped Stark to ringside and tackled her into the apron. Hartwell got a one count after a big boot. Stark recovered and hit Hartwell with a lariat for a two count. Both women traded the advantage for a stretch. Stark hit Hartwell with a slingshot meteora for a two count. Hartwell rallied back with lariats and a spinebuster for a two count.
Both women traded counters. Hartwell went for a slingshot, but Stark saw it coming. Stark hit Hartwell with a Tilt A Whirl GTS for the victory.
Zoey Stark defeated Indi Hartwell via pinfall in 6:16.
After the match, Stark gave Hartwell some post-match ground and pound. Sol Ruca ran out to chase away Stark…
The show cut to a Schism promo. They took turns cutting a promo about how The Dyad are coming after the Tag Team titles and are going to get them via the qualifying match later. Ava Raine talked about how Andre Chase is a false idol and how terrible Chase U is. They ended their promo by saying “four roots, one tree” in unison…
Wes Lee was shown heading to the ring from the back. The show cut to it’s first commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: As a reviewer, I hate these “limited commercial interruption” episodes. Anyways, I finally have time to write down some thoughts. Good cred booster for Zoey Stark. It’s refreshing to see a heel get a clean win, as it makes the dirty finishes mean more. Looking forward to her feud with Ruca as Ruca is a star in the making and can only benefit from working with a veteran like Stark. I am a bit confused at Indi Hartwell’s booking for the longest time. She’s been spinning her wheels for about a year. In fact, she hasn’t been in a meaningful program since WWE released Dexter Lumis and Persia Pirotta in the middle of their program that got a lot of social media play.
The show cut to Apollo Crews cutting a promo from the top of a skyscraper in Downtown Charlotte, North Carolina. Crews hyped up his upcoming match at Vengeance Day. He talked about how he’s visualized many scenarios where he can beat Melo. He had a vision of him taking out Trick Williams. He said Melo may call him the past, but at Vengeance Day the past will dictate the future…
NXT North American Champion Wes Lee made his entrance in street clothes. Lee took a mic and talked about how excited he was to see NXT go back on the road for Vengeance Day. He joked about North Carolina being called “North Cackalackey”. He talked about how he’s facing Dijak there for the title. He said Dijak claims he’s seeking justice, but he’s really just seeking gold. He said he will take a beating but in the end the “Cardiac Kid” will stay North American Champion.
Dijak made his entrance to interrupt Lee. Dijak said Lee needs to soak in the moment because it’ll be the last moments he’s the North American Champion. Dijak reiterated that Lee could have just relinquished the title to him, but instead he made a stupid decision. He said on Saturday Lee is going to stand across the ring from the biggest and baddest man in the NXT locker room. He said he’s going to pry the title from Lee’s cold dead hands.
Lee said that’s exactly what Dijak has to do, but he will be prepared due to all the trials and tribulations he’s gone through. Lee put over the fans as his source of power to help him overcome. Lee said that Dijak isn’t fighting Wes, but the fans who are on the “Wes side”. Dijak said that Lee might be fighting for them, but they aren’t fighting for Lee. Robert Stone and Von Wagner interrupted. Stone took exception to Dijak calling himself big and bad, because Von Wagner exists.
Von, in his bad promo voice, said “hey Dijak, take those stupid sunglasses off, we’re indoors and I’m right here”. Dijak said he’s focused on Championship gold and has no issues with Von. Lee tried to stir the pot a bit. Dijak said he sees exactly what Lee is doing. Lee said he just sees an “injustice”. Lee said that if Wagner can beat Dijak this week, Wagner might put himself in line for the next title shot after Vengeance Day. Dijak went after Wagner and both men had to be pulled apart by referees. Vic Joseph noted that Shawn Michaels told him that he’s booking this impromptu match right now…
John’s Thoughts: Good promo exchange to set up Saturday’s North American title match. Dijak’s character is cheesy, but his confidence enhances the action movie vigilante gimmick. Cool to see Wagner back, as he was improving from a look and in-ring perspective. It always confuses me that he has a good manager in Stone, yet they always have him deliver a line for no reason. That’s where he face plants. Maybe it would serve Wagner better if they gave him a Kane-like gimmick where he doesn’t need to talk? He definitely has the look and in-ring to fit that role.
3. Dijak vs. Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone). The show immediately cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from the break, Dijak hit Wagner with a Reality Check for a two count. Dijak hit Wagner with some Savate Kicks and a back elbow. Wagner got a moment of respite after nailing Dijak with a suplex into the buckle. Wagner and Dijak traded Big Boots. They then traded running strikes. Dijak nailed Wagner with elbows into a superkick. Wagner blocked Dijak’s power strike with a big boot for a two count. Dijak reversed a chokeslam with a backflip.
Dijak hit Wagner with a sitout chokeslam for the two count. Dijak dragged Wagner to the top rope while softening him up. Lee talked about it being fun seeing contenders for his title beating each other up. Wagner recovered and hit Dijak with a Super Dragon Suplex for a two count. Dijak reversed an Angle Slam into a Hammerlock Clutch. Dijak hit Wagner with Feast Your Eyes (Burning Hammer GTS) for the victory.
Dijak defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 8:41.
Lee and Dijak jawed at each other from a distance…
John’s Thoughts: A good back and fourth match between two big men. Both of these crisp wrestlers really won the crowd over with their solid offense and athleticism. In fact, I think this match was better for the live crowd than the TV audience because a large portion of it was behind the Picture-in-picture (yes, I know you can “watch” the match, but I’m conditioned to use that as a break period). I notice that the first hour of the show was a showcase of some of the more “larger” wrestlers on NXT’s roster as every single wrestler that’s competed so far has been a larger wrestler.
The show cut to Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” watching the match from the locker room. Stacks talked about how much Dijak annoys him. D’Angelo talked about Stacks’ proposal about facing a big opponent. Stacks said he took care of it and it will happen next week…
Vic Joseph sent the show to a tweet that showed that Nikkita Lyons was in recovery in the hospital. He sent the show to an investigative report by McKenzie Mitchell. They did a replay of the scene as McKenzie named all the women in camera frame during the segment where Lyons was attacked. She pointed out that Tiffany Stratton had a bag which may have a weapon, Zoey Stark was the closest to the scene, and Wendy Choo was peeking out of a random SUV when Hartwell and Valkyria checked up on her. The show cut to commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good way to turn a negative into a positive. Here’s praying for the best in Nikkita’s recovery. I really liked the attention to detail in the latest NXT whodunit. They did a good job sticking all those women in camera frame in a logical way. My guess is still those ninjas who kidnapped Samoa Joe in the Universal Studios Orlando parking lot (hey! That mystery is still unsolved after about a decade). Either that or the person that attacked Hideo Itami in the NXT parking lot.
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. They joked about Booker T in the Pulp Fiction themed commercial from past WrestleMania promotion in Los Angeles. The show cut to a Bron Breakker vs. Grayson Waller hype package…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place. Tyler Bate has new music that still sounds like Peter Gabriel’s sledgehammer (though I do like this remix better than his first theme)…
4. Tyler Bate vs. Axiom. Both men started the match with a lockup stalemate. Both men traded advantages with methodical and technical chain wrestling. Joseph hyped a sitdown interview between Roxanne Perez and Toxic Attraction for later in the show. Bate kept Axiom under control with armdrags into armbars.
Axiom came back with a springboard armdrag and dropkick. Axiom put Bate under control with a Front Chancery. Bate got to his feet and kicked Axiom. Both men took each other out over the top rope heading into picture-in-picture. [c]
Bate made Axiom dizzy with a Helicopter Spin. Bate then did a deadlift squat into a reverse Helicopter Spin. Both men traded fatigued strikes. Axiom caught Bate with a enzuigiri and PK for a two count. Axiom reversed a diving Shoryuken into a Rear Naked Choke. Bate got to his feet and pried opened the hands of Axiom. Bate hit Axiom with a right hand, but Axiom came back with a superkick. Bate dragged Axiom down into a two count.
Bate was selling jaw pain. Both men dodged strikes. Bate hit Axiom with Bop and Bang. Bate hit Axiom with a rebound lariat. Axiom reversed a Tyler Driver into a pin. Bate broke several pins with nice neck bridges. Axiom reversed a Tyler Driver with a huracanrana for a two count. Bate went for a third Tyler Driver 97′ and it hit. Tyler got the pin.
Tyler Bate defeated Axiom via pinfall in 10:06.
Axiom and Bate shared a respectful handshake. Damon Kemp ran in and clubbed Axiom in the head. Bate chased Kemp away…
John’s Thoughts: A great match between two of the better in-ring technical wrestlers in all of WWE. Vic Joseph put it correctly, in that it wouldn’t hurt to see these guys run this match back three or four more times without it getting old. Bate got a good win, and Axiom looked good in defeat. I’m happy to see Damon Kemp seemingly brought back for a program. He showed off so much improvement in his feud with Julius Creed, in the ring and on the mic. He’s a person who’s a really good learner and I’m very intrigued to see his development, which has been quick so far.
An Isla Dawn promo ensued. She was standing over a bonfire. She talked about how she’s purifying the negative energies around her. The camera paned over to show Alba Fyre was with her. Apparently they are on the same page. Dawn burned ashes into the fire. Fyre agreed to put out the fire with a bucket of water. Dawn said the initiation process has now begun…
John’s Thoughts: A bit macabre, but I really like this version of Isla Dawn. Her old witch character was cartoony and one-note. She’s evolved it to be a bit more “realistic” in real witchcraft lore. This looks like more of herself as opposed to her cosplaying. Her old cosplay character reminds me of Taylor Wilde’s current “People’s Witch” character which makes no damn sense.
Roxanne Perez was on one side while Toxic Attraction were on the other side of a split screen. They were being mic’d up for an interview…[c]
McKenzie Mitchell asked Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams about what they thought of Apollo Crews’s latest vision. McKenzie said it looks like Trick is shook. Trick said he’s shaking like “booty meat on a Friday night” not because he’s scared, but because it’s cold. Trick asked Melo if he needs to call Miss Cleo and if he should even show up on Saturday. Melo told Trick not to worry. Melo then talked about how he’s like the greatest NBA players with a nice jumpshot. He said that until Apollo can beat Melo best of three falls, Apollo will never be “Him”…
John’s Thoughts: Ugh, it still makes no sense that other wrestlers can see Apollo’s visions via TV. Not even Lucha Underground went that dumb. That said, Trick won me back when he dropped the “booty meat on a Friday night” line. The Miss Cleo reference was fun too.
Vic Joseph conducted the split screen interview between Toxic Attraction and Roxanne Perez. Joseph congratulated Perez for being the youngest wrestler to wrestle in the Royal Rumble. Perez talked about how it was a big moment for her. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin cut in and cracked jokes on Roxanne. Roxanne said Toxic Attraction act like friends, but there was truth between their jabs last week.
Gigi and Jacy said they’re on the same page and the numbers advantage. Jacy said that Perez peaked at 21 years old and that sucks. Gigi said at least Perez could go back home to Texas. Jacy and Gigi continued to trash talk while also reiterating the numbers advantage. Perez walked off on the interview looking sad. Joseph talked about Gigi and Jacy being out of line.
Joseph then asked them who will win if Roxanne doesn’t win. Gigi said she sees what Vic is doing, and there is no crack in Toxic Attraction. Jacy said that both her and Gigi will show the world who the hell they are. Gigi accidentally dropped the line that she was going to win. Roxanne Perez ran in and attacked Toxic Attraction. NXT Trainers Oney Lorcan and Robby Brookside ran in to pull everyone apart with the help of other trainers…
John’s Thoughts: The segment started out a bit rough because Roxanne’s weak point is her very monotonous promo delivery. She is one of the wrestlers that feels like she’s reading off lines. The segment got better once Toxic Attraction took over the reigns. Roxanne Perez even got her steam back with the unexpected attack on Toxic Attraction across the split screen.
Dani Palmer was already in the ring. Stevie Turner got a televised entrance. She had a Twitch chat feed appear during her entrance…
5. Stevie Turner vs. Dani Palmer. Stevie stretched out and tortured Dani with methodical offense. Stevie put Dani in a grounded headlock. The commentary team put over Turner having a good match against Meiko Satomura at NXT UK. Palmer rallied back with flying lariats. Palmer hit Stevie with a jawbreaker and Thesz Press. Stevie came back with a pump kick and spike DDT. Stevie hit Dani with a sitout chokeslam for the win.
Stevie Turner defeated Dani Palmer via pinfall in 2:55.
John’s Thoughts: Flat debut for Stevie based off the crowd sitting on their hands. They were actually more excited to see the plucky Dani Palmer who comes off more as a developmental NIL type as opposed to the veteran Stevie. I don’t blame the crowd because they don’t really have a reason to care about Stevie. She probably needed a promo to antagonize the crowd a bit. I think there’s hope there. She’s a heel Twitch streamer. All she had to do is call the crowd “simps” or something.
Fallon Henley yelled at Kiana James, thinking that James was scheming against Brooks Jensen. Katana Chance and Kayden Carter showed up to trash talk over the bickering tag team. They also talked about how the titles won’t change hands. After The Tag Champs left, Henley continued to reiterate that she doesn’t trust James…
Drew Gulak got a televised entrance for the next match…
6. Drew Gulak (w/Hank Walker) vs. Charlie Dempsey. Both men started out with methodical chain wrestling. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Dempsey used a nice neck bridge to get into a butterfly stretch. Dempsey chained together suplexes and submissions without breaking his grip for a stretch. Dempsey’s grip broke after a Suplex kickout. Gulak put Dempsey in a Chickenwing. Dempsey escaped with a armdrag. Gulak blocked a Dragon Screw. Dempsey landed a Dragon Screw on the other leg. Gulak escaped a heel hook with boots.
Gulak got a two count after a lariat. Gulak caught Dempsey with a loud chest slap. Dempsey came back wiht a boot. Dempsey broke a pin with a sleeper hold. Gulak put Dempsey in a arm trap armbar. Dempsey dragged Gulak into a standing Crossface Chickenwing. Dempsey dragged Gulak down into the Chickenwing. Gulak accidentally shoved Dempsey into Hank Walker. Gulak rolled up Dempsey for the win.
Drew Gulak defeated Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 8:41.
Von Wagner was throwing around benches in the locker room. Robert Stone asked Wagner why he asked him to manage him. Wagner said he’s managed Wagner for a year yet he doesn’t know who Von Wagner is. Stone said that Wagner roars and yells like everyone else. Stone said Wagner needs to show Wagner who he is. He kept saying “Help me, Help you!”. Stone walked away…
John’s Thoughts: Interesting development with Robert Stone lampshading Von Wagner’s weaknesses for good reason. Same criticisms that me and others have had on Wagner. I liked Stone’s more serious delivery. At one point in TNA, I actually thought Robert Stone (as Robbie E) had the potential to be a world title contender based off the serious promos he was delivering when he was coming back off his run on the Amazing Race show. I’ve been waiting for him for years to tap into his serious promo ability, but every time I hope that he just goes back into his Jersey Shore BroMans Schtick.
Vic Joseph ran through the advertised Vengeance Day card…
The Schism made their entrance heading into break…[c]
The rest of the entrances took place with ten minutes left at the top of the hour (with 7 minutes allocated for overrun). Booker T continued to trash talk New Day saying they are taking people’s spots. He also said that he totally didn’t take Rey Mystero’s spot at the rumble when Rey got injured…
7. “The Dyad” Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler (w/Joe Gacy, Ava Raine) vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson (w/Thea Hail) for the final spot in the NXT Tag Team Title Match at Vengeance Day. Chase and Enofe started the match with Chase dominating the chain wrestling. Enofe came back with nice hops to land a dropkick. Blade tagged in so he and Enofe can swarm Chase with alternating strikes. Jagger Reid tagged out Blade to work on Chase.
They Dyad hit Chase with a double team Spike Pile Driver at ringside (Woah, you don’t see that in WWE often?). The Dyad cut the ring around Chase to prevent the tag. Chase got a window of opportunity after hitting Rip with a suplex. Reid knocked Hudson off the apron and Chase couldn’t get the hot tag. Chase dropped Fowler to ringsde. Chase tried to reluctantly tag in Enofe or Blade, but they were tripped by the Dyad. The Dyad hit Chase with a reverse Ticket to Mayhem (A Backstaber Bomb). Chase kicked out at two.
Hudson managed to get the hot tag to clean house. He pummeled both men with Chase U Bionic Elbows. Hudson caught Reid with a big boot. Hudson hit Reid with a nice slingshot German Suplex for a two count. Blade tagged out Hudson. He hit Reid with a axe handle and hit Hudson (barely) with a huracanrana at ringside.
[Overrun] Enofe tagged in. Enofe and Blade hit Reid with top rope dives. Enofe and Blade hit Reid with a Samoan Drop Blockbuster. Fowler broke up the pin. Enofe and Blade hit the pile of wrestlers at ringside with stereo flip dives. Blade and Enofe dragged Reid to the top rope. Fowler tossed Blade into the steel steps. Chase tagged in and hit The Dyad and Enofe with a Tower of Doom. Chase hit Reid with Chase U boots. Ava Raine got on the apron for the distraction. Thea Hail tripped up Raine to distract Reid. Hudson tagged in and put Reid in a Gory Special. Chase hit Reid with a Blockbuster. Vic Joseph called the combo move “The Frat-liner”. Duke Hudson picked up the pinfall.
Duke Hudson and Andre Chase defeated The Dyad and Edris Enofe and Malik Blade via pinfall in 10:36 to earn the final spot in the Tag Team Title match at Vengeance Day.
Pretty Deadly appeared on the stage while Gallus (Mark and Wolfgang) appeared on the crow’s nest. Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods showed up on the Titantron to mock the title contenders. Vic Joseph closed the show hyping Vengeance Day…
But wait, there’s more. The show cut to a footage of Shawn Michaels doing media appearances to hype up NXT’s return to the road. A NXT Vengance Day hype package aired to hype the show…
John’s Thoughts: A fun tag match to close the show. I assume Andre Chase is being put in this match to take the pin as I wouldn’t want to see any other wrestler in that tag match take the pin during the four way (especially since WWE need to build up Gallus and Pretty Deadly). I sure as hell don’t want to see Gallus eat the pin because they were eating so many when they made their NXT US debut. Lots of talent in this show closing match. I do question putting the Dyad in this match, to take the pin nonetheless. Their reboot showed so much potential, especially with Dwayne Johnson’s daughter involved. Right now they’re in wheel spinning mode, and I was hoping for more.
This was a really good go-home edition of NXT with lots of good matches throughout. It looks like NXT was a lot more focused heading into their first big event on the road in a while as opposed to their last New Years Evil show. This week’s NXT also served as a good showcase of their very diverse roster with so many wrestling styles being showcased. Join me this Sunday as I do my NXT Vengeance Day live coverage on Dot Net.
Great go home show, amazing how NXT puts on a better show that the main roster shows consistently. I wonder what happened to the Cora Jade vs. Lyra Valkyria match though as it was pulled?