By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired February 7, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] The intro video focused on highlights from NXT’s Vengeance Day PLE…
Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Bayley was shown entering the WWE Performance Center, selling the effects of last nights cage match with a sling on her arm. Vic Joseph hyped Bayley hosting her talk show later on with Toxic Attraction as her guests…
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams made their entrance for a promo. Trick bragged about Melo beating Apollo Crews this past Saturday. Trick joked that Melo turned the visionary Apollo to Stevie Wonder who’s blind. Melo took the mic and continued to brag and how he proved he’s “him”. He said he’s beat everyone he said he’d beat, except one person. Before Melo could reveal the one person, JD McDonagh made his entrance with a mic.
JD said it’s clear that Melo was talking about going after Bron Breakker and the NXT Title. JD said he agrees that Melo is a cool person, but in the ring he can’t hold JD’s jock strap. JD said that Melo is not ready to hold the big title or to be the face of the brand. Melo said he thought he beat everyone, but it looks like there’s a survivor in JD. JD talked about how he focuses on destroying body parts, and how he’ll put Melo in the hospital. Melo said that they should have a match tonight. JD got in Melo’s face and said “game on”…
John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective segment to set Melo off on his quest to the NXT Championship. I’m curious to see if they try to make him more of a babyface heading into and coming out of Stand and Deliver? Melo definitely has the confidence and ability these days to pick up the mantle (and a huge upgrade over the “happy to be here” babyface he started out as in NXT). He’s still a heel now though and it’s a bit odd to see them pit him against fellow heel JD. That said, JD is arguably the best bell-to-bell wrestler in NXT, meaning that Melo and JD have the potential to create magic in the ring.
Fallon Henley confronted Kiana James backstage and admonished James for cheating in their title win. James said Henley should be happy because Henley’s a champion for the first time ever. Henley said it’s only fair to give Carter and Chance a rematch after the tainted win. Henley also assumed that James was cheating on Jensen by talking to her boo on the phone.
James denied such a thing. Henley teased snitching on James. As James and Henley entered the break room, they were met by Briggs, Jensen, and a bunch of developmental wrestlers who threw a surprise party to celebrate Henley and James’s title win…
Sol Ruca made her entrance…[c]
They aired the old Triple H and Ric Flair Wrestlemania ad where they were doing a parody of Braveheart…
Vic Joseph sent the show to the NXT Zoom Media Call where Grayson Waller harrassed HBK and had to be dragged out of the room by Matt Bloom…
Zoey Stark made her entrance…
1. Zoey Stark vs. Sol Ruca. Ruca managed to get Zoey down with a deep armdrag. Sol hit Zoey with an X Factor and then dumped her to ringside. Sol used the splits to do a leg whip counter. Zoey hit Sol with a right hand and basement lariat for a two count. Zoey kept Sol under control with a cravate. Sol landed on her feet to block a snapmare. Booker said Sol reminds him of a young AJ Styles with how innovative she is.
Sol rallied with shoulder tackles. Sol did a cartwheel into a splash. Zoey came back with a superkick. Sol went for a high slingshot splash but went right into the knees of Stark. Stark hit Sol with the Tilt-a-whirl GTS for the win.
Zoey Stark defeated Sol Ruca via pinfall in 3:47.
Stark attacked Ruca after the match. Sol tried to body slam Ruca into the turnbuckle, but Sol countered the move into a Sol Snatcher to leave Zoey lying…
John’s Thoughts: Good and effective way to keep Zoey hot while also showing to viewers that the creative forces are high on Sol Ruca and don’t just want to have her linger in the undercard. Sol’s a work in progress, but she’s progressing quickly and showing insane athleticism. Sol Ruca is very balanced when walking the ropes. I can definitely see her having Kofi Kingston and John Morrison type of potential with her innovative spots. It would be fun to see her go against Ninja Warrior Katana Chance to see what kind of crazy parkour stuff she can do. The producers were clever this week in giving Stark the win, yet finding a way for Sol to hit her finisher in the loss.
A replay aired of Daba Kato betraying his former boss Apollo Crews from Satruday. Daba Kato was shown backstage heading to the ring…[c]
The show cut back to Henley and James’s congratulation party. Henley insisted that James talk to talking to someone on the phone. Pretty Deadly showed up looking disheveled. They were yelling at everyone about deserving to be tag team champions. Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, and Thea Hail confronted Pretty Deadly. Chase cursed out Pretty Deadly and challenged them to a match later on…
Daba Kato made his entrance and Dante Chen was already in the ring. Booker T said he’s a huge fan of Chen and is sad that he has to get destroied by Kato…
2. Daba Kato vs. Dante Chen. Kato gave Chen a chest chop. Kato kept Chen in the corner with tackles. Kato hit Chen with a flapjack. Daba Kato hit Chen with a big headbutt. Chen fended off Kato with a boot and alternating punches. Chen rallied with right hands.
Chen got Kato to a knee with a big boot. Chen hit Kato with a double chop. Kato got up and slammed Chen to the mat with a overhead chop. Kato hit Chen with Sky High for the win.
Daba Kato defeated Dante Chen via pinfall in 2:41.
Kelly Kincaid (f.k.a. Quinn McKay) interviewed Daba Kato asking him why he attacked Apollo Crews. Daba looked twice Kelly’s size. Kato said that Crews knows what he did, and that’s why “I dropped his ass”. Kato left…
John’s Thoughts: A solid return to NXT for Daba Kato. Dante Chen got more offense than I thought he would and he looked good in what little offense we saw from him. NXT creative seemed high on Chen before his injury so I wonder if they’ll get behind him once they give him a character. Back to Kato, I don’t think we’ve ever seen him wrestle full on matches in NXT. On Smackdown, he looked like an idiot in the Commander Azeez cosplay so that dragged him down. Best I’ve seen from him was from the short lived Raw Underground segment, where he looked great. I hope he integrates some of the Muay Thai he used there. What made for a good visual here was him standing next to Kelly Kincaid. Dude was as tall as two Kelly Kincaids.
A replay aired of the finish of last week’s Indus Sher vs. Creed Brothers match aired. The Creeds, Ivy Nile, and Tatum Paxley were in trainer room. The doctor said that Nile will be cleared to wrestle by this weekend. Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre showed up.
Dawn accused Paxley of attacking Nikkita Lyons in the parking lot because she was creeping around (wasn’t about every woman in the parking lot though?). Paxley said she was just getting air and Lyons was already on the ground. Dawn said that answer sounded like Paxley was dodging the accusation. Dawn and Fyre left with Brutus wondering if Paxley attacked Lyons…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Roxanne Perez. Perez was happy to come out of Vengeance Day champion. Kayden Carter and Katana Chance showed up and acted mopey. They trash talked Perez and said that Perez doesn’t have friends. Perez said she has friends and will make a call to one to challenge Chance and Carter…
3. Isla Dawn (w/Alba Fyre) vs. Tatum Paxley. Paxley hit Dawn with a cartwheel kick and lariat for a two count. Dawn took down Paxley and hit her with a running meteora for a two count. Paxley hit Dawn with a jawbreaker. Paxley rallied with right hands and a few clotheslines. Paxley hit Dawn with a gutwrench suplex for a two count. Dawn avoided a crossbody by rolling away. Dawn hit Paxley with The Eye of the Hurricane for the win.
Isla Dawn defeated Tatum Paxley via pinfall in 3:08.
Fyre teased attacking Paxley with her bat, but Ivy Nile ran out with a metal chain to chase off Dawn and Fyre…
A hype package aired for the upcoming McDonagh vs. Hayes match…
Someone was shown exiting a car. The camera only focused on the person’s shoes and Vic wondered who this was?[c]
John’s Thoughts: An ok match, but Tatum Paxley still seems to be progressing slowly in the ring. Dawn’s a veteran, but she hasn’t been known to carry less experienced opponents. I really think Paxley can use some time off TV to work live events and develop a new character. I want her to get a new character because I feel like she’s a boat anchor to the more promising Ivy Nile.
Carmelo Hayes was in the ring for the next match. Vic Joseph noted that this upcoming match would be a main event anywhere in the world…
4. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. JD McDonagh. Melo and McDonagh started the match at a stalemate during the chain wrestling sequence. Hayes countered a Northern Lights Suplex with a backflip. Melo pantomimed that he was dribbling a ball. McDonagh pantomimed that he punted the ball. McDonagh worked on Melo with chops. Melo backdropped McDonagh and gave him a Plancha.
Melo gave McDonagh a series of right hands. JD made a comeback with punches and a flapjack. JD worked on Melo with ground and pound right hands. JD hit Melo with a high back suplex for a two count. JD sent Melo gut-first into the top rope with a front suplex. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
[Hour Two] McDonagh had Melo in an abdominal stretch. Melo came back with an Irish Whip and backdrop. Both men traded rapid inside cradles. McDonagh hit Melo with a Spanish Fly for a two count. Melo hit JD with a snapmare and standing double stomp Melo staggered JD with a few Gamengiris on the top rope. Melo hit JD with a fadeaway draping Leg Drop.
Melo and JD traded blows. Melo hit JD with a springboard lariat. Melo hit JD with a Final Cut suplex for a two count. Melo countered a few strikes and hit JD with La Mistica. JD kicked out and Melo put JD in a Crossface. JD got to the bottom rope for the break. JD used a neck bridge to escape a jackknife pin. JD hit Melo with a haymaker and sitout power bomb for a nearfall.
Melo surprised JD with a codebreaker. JD kicked out at two. Melo and JD took each other out with stereo headbutts. Suddenly, Ilja Dragunov made his entrance and return to NXT wearing formal attire. Ilja knocked down Trick at ringside. JD was distracted which allowed Melo to roll up JD for the win.
Carmelo Hayes defeated JD McDonagh via pinfall in 13:18.
After Ilja entered the ring, Melo rolled away. Ilja hit JD with a basement lariat. Ilja chased JD into the crowd…
John’s Thoughts: A good match, but the crowd wasn’t as hyped as they could have been because they have no reason to get behind either man. Melo was presumably the de facto babyface, but it was still tough to have that overcome the heel vs. heel matchup. The finish felt a bit overthought too. I didn’t think they had to go above and beyond to protect JD given how good he is bouncing back from big losses. I hope they find a way to get back to Melo vs. JD down the road on a WWE PLE or something because we know these two are the cream of the crop in NXT.
Thea Hail confronted Tiffany Stratton about how she was hating on Chase U on social media. Hail started to ramble about needing to turn in her homework about John Cena. Stratton said Chase U is cringey and nobody wants to go there.
Hail tried to calm herself down and then snapped at Tiffany about how Tiffany is selfish, while Chase U is open to everyone. Hail told Tiffany to “suck it” and did a crotch chop. After Tiffany turned around, Hail was choked out and dragged away by Ava Raine…
Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin were shown arriving at the Performance Center at different parts of the day…[c]
The show cut back to Henley and James’s congratulation party. Henley was about to tell Jensen about James talking to someone else on the phone, but was cut off by Jensen being super hyped to spend Valentines Day with Kiana James. Henley held her tongue, not wanting to crush Jensen’s heart…
Vic Joseph thanked the fans for making Vengeance Day one of the most watch NXT PLE’s on Peacock…
Wendy Choo accompanied Valentina Feroz for her singles match. Her opponent was Lyra Valkyria. They turned up the fog machine and took away that horrible rain Instagram filter (thank god)…
5. Lyra Valkyria vs. Valentina Feroz (w/Wendy Choo). Both women traded wristholds. Lyra hit Valentina with an axe kick combination. Feroz countered a Power Slam into a Guillotine Choke. Lyra countered the Choke into a Northern Lights Suplex for a two count. Elektra Lopez appeared at ringside. Feroz got Lyra to the mat with a huracanrana.
Both women took each other out by running at each other head-first. Lopez handed Valentina brass knuckles. Choo tried to convince Feroz to not use them, but Valentina put them on anyway. Valintina walked right into an enzuigiri and crescent kick for the victory.
Lyra Valkyria defeated Valentina Feroz via pinfall in 2:51.
Wendy Choo went to check on Valentina after the match…
John’s Thoughts: Bit of an eh match. I feel like we should be more excited for Lyra, but she hasn’t really taken the world by storm yet in-the-ring (though I was a huge fan of her introductory vignettes). She did have a good showing in the Battle Royal and has looked good in UK, so hopefully it would eventually click. I’m actually more hyped to see how Valentina Feroz develops. She has a good personality and is improving in the ring week-to-week.
Vic sent the show to a Wes Lee travel log video where he showed people his day before Vengeance Day. He introduced viewers to his wife Erika. His wife was shown crying in joy at how inspirational her husband is. Lee talked about sacrificing a lot to get here and this is the biggest moment of his life. Highlights from the Lee vs. Dijak match were shown with Lee saying he wasn’t settling for anything less than success. He was shown congratulated by Shawn Michaels and Steve Corino at the Gorilla Position after the match…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee. Lee said it was a good video, but he’s worried a bit about Dijak’s dislocated finger. Tony D’Angelo and Stacks showed up to say that they should thank them for him retaining the title. Lee said he didn’t need help, but he needs a next opponent to defend his title against. Lee said if Stacks or Tony have the Cannolis, then they can take him up on his open challenge next week. Tony said he and Stacks have some business to deal with now…
Odyssey Jones made his entrance…[c]
A Tyler Bate backstage promo aired where Bate called out Grayson Waller for disrespecting a legend in Shawn Michaels. Bate said once Waller’s suspension is over next week, Waller needs to show up to disrespect Tyler and see what happens…
Stacks and Tony D’Angelo made their entrance…
6. Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Tony D’Angelo) vs. Odyssey Jones. Jones no-sold the running strikes of Stacks and took down Stacks with a lariat. Jones tossed Stacks like a boulder. Jones put Stacks on the top buckle and gave him clubbing overhead blows. Stacks came back with a jawbreaker and Northern Lariat. Stacks went for a leg drop on the apron and slipped to the ground.
Booker said some random stuff about the Mafia, which Vic Joseph noted came off like nonsense. Odyssey recovered and hit Stacks with a side slam. Odyssey rolled on Stacks like a boulder. Jones hit Stacks with a lariat at ringside. Stacks caught Jones in the ring with a DDT and diving right hand. Stacks hit Jones with a knee version of the Blackout for the win.
Stacks defeated Odyssey Jones via pinfall in 5:11.
An Indus Sher promo aired where Jinder bragged about Veer and Sanga’s win over The Creeds. Jinder talked about how India celebrated the win and continue to celebrate Veer and Sanga as celebrities. Jinder said America needs to celebrate them too. Sanga talked about how there are no tag teams around worthy to step up against them. Jinder said all three of them will be draped in gold (Jinder going for a title?)…
Andre Chase and Duke Hudson were making their entrance. Chase wondered where Thea Hail was? Hudson said he saw her talking to Tiffany Stratton last, but he’s sure she’s ok because she’s a grown woman…[c]
An unseen interviewed asked Roxanne Perez about her tag team partner next week. Perez said that her tag team partner will be former NXT UK Women’s Champion, Meiko Satomura…
Pretty Deadly made their entrance looking sad and disheveled. They also had bags under their eyes and wrestled in street clothes…
7. “Pretty Deadly” Kit Wilson and Elton Prince vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson. A “pretty sleepy” chant ensued. Hudson tossed around Prince. Prince made a half assed tag to Wilson. Chase hit Wilson with an elbow drop after Hudson gave him a drop toehold. Prince was rolled around by Hudson. Wilson asked “what’s the point”. Chase rebounded Wilson several times with right hands. Prince was tossed into Wilson’s draped boots. Prince got their first offense when his elbow hit Chase.
Pretty Deadly seemingly got their confidence as they hit a tandem move on Chase. Hudson tagged in and beat up Wilson. Hudson hit Wilson with a sidewalk slam. Prince dumped Hudson to ringside by pulling down the top rope. Wilson took down Hudson at ringside with a Flying Jalepeno uppercut. Pretty Deadly said “Yes boy!” and claimed they were back.[c]
Prince was dominating Hudson as Hudson continued to try to gas himself up. Chase and Wilson tagged in Chase took down both opponents with right hands and Atomic Drops. Chase backdropped Prince and put Wilson in a Figure Four. Chase avoided a splash. Chase hit Pretty Deadly with a Legsweep DDT to give Chase a two count on Wilson. Prince hit Chase with snake eyes and put him into Wilson’s gutbuster to get a two count.
Hudson hit Wilson with an Bionic Elbow and senton combo. Chase dumped Wilson to ringside. Chase hit Prince wtih the Chase U boots. Thea Hail ran out freaked out after escaping The Schism. Chase rolled up Wilson for the two count. Hudson went to ringside to check on Hail. Prince tagged in and hit Chase with Spilled Milk for the victory.
Pretty Deadly defeated Andre Chase and Duke Hudson via pinfall in 9:30.
Hail’s shirt was covered in the Schism’s smiley pins. Gallus appeared on the crow’s nest to taunt Pretty Deadly..
John’s Thoughts: Yo! That was pretty great! Pretty Deadly are so good as personalities and I’m a huge fan of their crestfallen bum routine. Not quite “Bum ass” Baron Corbin, but a fun variation of the crestfallen act. What made it work here was how they integrated their depression in the ring. These guys are totally ready for the main roster and they’ve been ready ever since they showed up in NXT. Such good characters. Looks like they’re being set up in a feud with Gallus. Gallus has been pretty bland without Joe Coffey. Hopefully Pretty Deadly are able to draw some character out of them (Speaking of Joe, where the hell is he? How did they ship over one Coffey brother from the UK, but not the cool one?).
Hank Walker and Drew Gulak were chatting backstage. Gulak said he was impressed with the ring gear sketches he showed him. Charlie Dempsey showed up to challenge Walker. Dempsey said Walker better not take shortcuts like Drew Gulak…
Bayley was shown backstage drawing on a notepad in preparation for her talk show…[c]
Vic Joseph thanked the viewers again for making Vengeance Day so successful on Peacock. They aired a Triple H tweet where he thanked the fans…
Vic Joseph plugged the following segments for next week: Wes Lee holding a open challenge for his North American Title, Bron Breakker appearing for the first time since Vengeance Day, Kayden Carter and Katana Chance vs. Meiko Satomura and Roxanne Perez, and Tyler Bate vs. Grayson Waller.
[Overrun] Bayley was on her interview set and welcomed viewers to her Ding Dong Hello talk show. Bayley talked about being huge fans of Toxic Attraction. She introduced them to her talk show. Gigi and Jacy made their entrance together, but they were scoffing at each other on the way to the ring. Gigi and Jacy took a seat and mics. Both women bickered, blaming each other for costing them the NXT Women’s Championship.
Gigi claimed that Jacy needs her. Jacy said she’s a star all by herself. Jacy said Gigi looked like a hobo banged a Chucky doll on Saturday with her ring gear. Gigi said that Jacy was staring at the lights, like she always does in the “Jacy Jayne position”. Bayley asked both women what they will do in the future and if they would still want to have a ride or die. Both women got introspective about alienating the locker room.
Jacy talked about using Damage Ctrl as an example of strength in numbers. Jacy talked about she just cuts deep when she gets pissed, but no matter what happens Gigi will always be a sister to her. Gigi said Jacy will always be her sister too. Jacy said they can either have one more run. Gigi wondered if they should go after the NXT Women’s Tag Titles.
They then shifted and said they should go after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. Bayley tried to shut down that idea and told them to hug it out. Gigi and Jacy hugged and held up their arms in unity. Toxic Attraction’s theme played. Out of nowhere, Jacy superkicked Gigi. Jacy tossed Gigi into the prop door on the interview set (it didn’t break). Jacy got in Gigi’s face saying that it’s all about Jacy. Gigi was sobbing in pain. Vic Joseph closed the show by saying that we’ve witnessed a Toxic Explosion…
John’s Thoughts: The acting wasn’t the greatest, but the storytelling was solid. Going into this segment, I was thoroughly expecting an angle that would lead to Toxic Attraction breaking up. They did subvert my expectations by the end of it by teasing Toxic Attraction going after the Main Roster Tag Team Titles. That’s where it helped to have Bayley there. I’m interested to see who comes out of Toxic Attraction the bigger star. I’ve seen Gigi in other places be a bigger star, but Jacy has shown more character in WWE, and continues to grow.
This week’s NXT was a bit of a cooldown from the PLE to kick off the road to Stand and Deliver. Nothing really standout as the show was focused on character development and worldbuilding. Even the Carmelo Hayes vs. JD McDonagh was underwhelming given the fluky finish and expectation from the high levels of talent in that match. The must watch parts of tonight was anything involving Pretty Deadly. Call those guys up, they are right, they are two tasty snacks.
Lmao when Toxic Attraction was walking to the ring and Booker T was gushing over them and losing his breath, Vic asked him “why are you out of breath”, the tone Vic used cracked me up lmao. It was kinda strange
I’m starting to get a kick out of Vic calling Booker out on all of his randomness. Vic’s strength with all his heel color commentators is that he’s always willing to stand up to them and not be intimidated.
I’m no fan of Wes Lee but that video travel piece really won me over. Super well done
The Toxic Attraction break up moment reminded me very much of the Rockers break up with the superkick. Where was the window when we needed it?
It looked like they wanted the prop door to break or smash open, but the door seemingly wanted an “I am the Table” moment, but not complying.