By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired February 21, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Trick Williams made his entrance to his own theme with a mic and ring gear on. He said he was here to prove that he’s more than just talk and can back up every word he says. He said that Dragunov can come out and wear a long robe, call himself a mad dragon, and orchestrate an imaginary band; but Trick is here to beat that bum into Oblivion. Ilja Dragunov made his entrance to new entrance music (still not as good as his NXT UK theme with the choir)…
1. Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams. Trick gave Ilja a cheap shot punch before the bell. Ilja dragged Trick quickly into a Kesa Gatame Judo pin. Trick rolled to the bottom rope for the break. Trick lifted Ilja and dragged him to the corner. Ilja turned the tables and nailed Trick with chops. Ilja put Trick in a side headlock. Tirck got to his feet, but was quickly dragged back into a Judo headlock. After Trick got up, Ilja dragged Trick back into the ground.
Trick got up and body slammed Ilja. While Trick was mocking Ilja’s conducting finger wave, Ilja nailed him with double lifted boots. Ilja worked on Trick with takedowns and chops. Ilja gave Trick a knee. Trick tripped Ilja off the 2nd rope. Ilja gave Trick a few forearms to the back to stagger him. Trick tripped Dragunov off the top rope. JD McDonagh walked to ringside to approach Ilja. Trick dragged Ilja back to the ring for the two count. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
JD McDonagh joined Vic and Booker on commentary. Trick had Ilja in a cravate back from the break. Ilja escaped and both men traded elbows. Ilja hit Trick with a rebound lariat. Ilja nad Trick traded stiff strikes. Trick crumpled a bit but returned fire. Ilja dropped Trick with a enzuigiri. Ilja hit Trick with a top rope knee. Trick escaped a German Suplex and gave Ilja a handstand kick and lariat for a two count.
Ilja reversed a cyclone kick into a power bomb. Trick kicked out of a pin, but Ilja followed up with a basement forearm. Trick tried to escape, but Ilja hit him with a Deadlift German Suplex. Ilja prepped and hit Trick with Torpedo Moscow for the victory.
Ilja Dragunov defeated Trick Williams via pinfall in 13:07.
John’s Thoughts: Good show opener. We know what we can get from Ilja given the match of the year candidates this guy produces. Trick rarely wrestles on TV and when we’ve seen him wrestle it’s usually in short spurts. This was the longest match I’ve seen him wrestle and he looked pretty good. That time on NXT Level Up seems to be paying dividends. The guy’s an expert manager, so no need to rush him into wrestling, but it doesn’t hurt to take the slow and steady approach to development to raise Trick’s ceiling post-Carmelo Hayes.
A Jinder Mahal promo package aired where Jinder hyped up his match against Bron Breakker. Jinder talked about how Bron Breakker lost the title to Dolph Ziggler before Stand and Deliver and Jinder is about to do it this year. Jinder talked about how he’s the master of shocking victories, the most famous being his victory against Randy Orton. Jinder said he’s going to be the new NXT Champion…
Fallon Henley was in the locker room. She was trying to call Brooks Jensen to apologize for Valentines Day, but Brooks won’t answer. Josh Briggs showed up to chat with Fallon. Briggs said he’s trying to keep everyone together. Briggs talked about how Fallon needs to own up that she screwed up. Fallon said Briggs is right and she needs to apologize to Kiana James too. Briggs told Fallon to call her. Fallon said she needs to apologize in person…[c]
Footage was shown of Meiko Satomura holding a training session for a bunch of unnamed NXT Developmental Wrestlers. Roxanne Perez ran in last minute to ask if she could join the training session. Meiko said she could. They ran through various exercises where everyone other than Roxanne Perez got gassed out. After squats, and after everyone else left, Perez gave Meiko an “arigato” for a good training session. Perez was about to leave, but Meiko told her to turn back because that was just the warm up. The graphic said this segment is “to be continued”…
Tyler Bate made his entrance in street clothes (He found a green sweater this time as opposed to that weird chef shirt he would wear every week). Bate introduced himself. He said the welcome he’s received since moving to the US for time has invigorated him. He talked about how he’s beaten Axiom and Grayson Waller, but he’s lost to Bron Breakker. He said he’s about to embark on a mystical journey with the NXT fans. Tyler’s promo was cut off by Joe Gacy and the Schism making their entrance.
Joe said he can’t help but think that he and Tyler are kindred spirits, because they are forward thinkers. Bate said he’s not going to drink whatever concoction he’s fed to his Schism mates. Joe said Tyler was right about going on a journey, but you have to surround yourself with the right people. Joe Gacy and Ava Raine tried to sell Bate on joining The Schism. Andre Chase, Duke Hudson, and Thea Hail ran out to chase off The Schism. Vic noted that The Dyad will face Chase U after the break…[c]
2. “The Dyad” Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler (w/Joe Gacy, Ava Raine) vs. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson (w/Thea Hail). Vic Joseph compared The Schism kidnapping Thea Hail to when The Boogeyman kidnapped Sharmell. Reid had Chase under control with methodical offense. The Dyad traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Chase. After a few minutes, Chase got Duke Hudson in with a hot tag after crawling under the legs of Reid.
Hudson hit Fowler with a Bionic Elbow and senton combo. Hudson tackled Reid into the corner and gave him an Exploder Suplex to send him into Fowler. Reid raked Hudson in the face. Chase tagged in and took down Reid with a superkick for a nearfall. Fowler dumped Chase to ringside. Hudson dumped Fowler to ringside. Reid rolled up Hudson for a two count. Fowler dragged Hudson to ringside which allowed Reid to nail him with a suicide dive. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Chase caught the hot tag back from the break and cleaned house. Chase hit both Dyad members with a DDT and Legsweep at the same time. Chase caught Reid with a neckbreaker. Chase hit Fowler with a Triangle Moonsault. Chase hit Reid with a High Fly Flow for a two count. Chase and Reid traded Yay Boo punches. Chase hit Reid with a Russian Legsweep. Chase then hit a few Chase U boots on Reid, but went to check on Hail when Ava Raine showed up near her.
Hudson tagged in and hit Reid with a German Suplex. Hudson got a bit distracted when Chase was at ringside checking on Hail. Fowler hit Hudson with a throat punch. The Dyad hit Hudson with a Double Codebreaker to give Fowler the pinfall.
The Dyad defeated Duke Hudson and Andre Chase via pinfall in 9:04.
After The Schism left, Hudson yelled at Chase that he needs to let Hail grow up. Hudson then asked Chase if this is a University or a Charity. Hudson left. Hail cried saying it’s all her fault…
John’s Thoughts: A good tag team match. Chase U is definitely over with the crowd and it’s always a treat to watch Andre Chase subvert expectations with his stellar in-ring work. What made it tough to care about this match, is due to The Schism not being over. They had a fun reboot, and strong addition in adding Dwayne Johnson’s daughter to the act; but since then, they’ve done zero character development with them, and they just pop up every once in a while. I want to care about them, because all four members have a high potential ceiling, but NXT just isn’t giving them meaningful character development.
In the locker room, Robert Stone asked Von Wagner if he’s made his decision. Wagner said he’s here to “kick ass and take names”. Stone mocked Wagner for being unoriginal. Tony D’Angelo and Stacks approached Wagner for stealing his title shot. Wagner threw in the Di Niro “You talkin’ to me” line. Tony challenged Von to a match. Von was about to accept, but he respectfully declined after Stone coached him. Tony and Stacks mocked Wagner for having Stone make his decisions. This fired up Von and caused him to accept the challenge. Stone yelled at Wagner, saying he’s playing into their hands. Von yelled to “shut up”…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey and asked Gulak why he turned his back on a friend in Hank Walker. Gulak said Walker isn’t a friend, but just a student asking for help. Gulak said Walker is a nice guy. Gulak said Walker isn’t ruthless, but that’s more Charlie Dempsey…
Jacy Jayne made her entrance…[c]
A Sol Ruca promo package aired. She said she likes the waves because every wave is different. She talked about how everyone in the NXT Women’s Division was different. Ruca talked about sucking at first when she tries something new, but she feels good when she makes it work. Ruca was shown perfecting a kickflip from a handstand on a skateboard. She said she’s looking forward to getting back in the ring with Zoey Stark…
Indi Hartwell made her entrance…
3. Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell. Hartwell started the match with a wristlock. Jayne came back with chops and a knee. Hartwell came back with Irish Whips and a few shortarm lariats. Jayne came back with a neckbreaker and senton. Jayne stretched Hartwell’s neck against the top rope. Jayne gave Hartwell a rounhouse to the back for a two count. Jayne put Hartwell in a sleeper for about a minute. Hartwell escaped and rallied with right hands.
[Hour Two]Hartwell hit Jayne with a spinebuster for a two count. Hartwell gave Jayne a draping face wash kick. Jayne turned the tables and tossed Hartwell into the corner. Jayne hit Hartwell with a cannonball. Jayne gave Hartwell a kiss on the head and then smashed her head into the 2nd rope with a boot. Jayne lifted Indi for another boot, but Gigi Dolin ran in for the DQ.
Jacy Jayne defeated Indi Hartwell via apparent DQ in 5:06.
Dolin tossed Jayne into the barricades. Dolin then chased Jayne to the back…
John’s Thoughts: Well, it got the job done, but I don’t think it did any favors for Jacy Jayne. I really liked that they didn’t have Gigi Dolin appear to screw up Dolin’s strong promo last week, as it allowed the promo to stew for a week, but this felt like it didn’t really help anyone. Indi Hartwell continues to feel cold as she just loses all of the time in the undercard gatekeeper role. NXT is also going to have to do a formal turn of Dolin who the fans have no reason to get behind other than she was wronged by Jacy.
Meiko Satomura and Roxanne Perez were still training. Perez wondered why they were training so hard before their match at Road Block. Meiko said they don’t talk, they train. A training montage aired with a focus on lockups and roundhouse kicks. Meiko gave Perez praise when she was shoved by a shoulder tackle. Meiko said when they face each other in two weeks, Perez’s strength is going to have to come from the heart, not from the muscles…
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were shown heading to the ring from backstage. They had two random guys carting over a large cake behind them…[c]
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Zoey Stark about Sol Ruca’s promo. Stark said Perez can stay at the beach and that she’s done with Sol. Stark then complained about Meiko taking shortcuts to get to the title. Stark said if she meets Meiko she’s going to show her who the real final boss is…
Gallus got a televised entrance. Enofe and Blade were already in the ring…
4. NXT Tag Team Champions “Gallus” Mark Coffey and Wolfgang vs. Edris Enofe and Malik Blade in a non-title match. Enofe pressured Mark to the ropes. Mark came back with a shove. Mark got his hands on Blade and tossed him across the ring. Blade reversed a backslide with a flip, but he ate Wolfgang’s uppercut. Mark tagged back in and gave Blade an uppercut. Blade tried to fight out of the corner with punches, but Mark hit Blade with a Uranage.
The two random guys in pink clothes showed up and rolled a cake to ringside. Enofe tagged in and took down the distracted Mark. Enofe dropped Wolfgang from the apron. Enofe hit Wolfgang with a top rope cannonball. Enofe hit Mark with an elbow drop for a one count. Blade tagged in. Enofe and Blade slipped up on a double team move for a two count. Mark regained control by hitting Blade with an Axe Handle to the chest. Gallus hit Blade with a Power Slam-Shoulder Tackle finisher to pick up the win.
Gallus defeated Malik Blade and Edris Enofe via pinfall in 3:42.
The two messengers told Gallus that the cake was in celebration of Gallus losing the UK tag team titles to Pretty Deadly two years ago. Gallus shoved the cake into the faces of the two messengers and dumped them to ringside. Pretty Deadly showed up and hit Gallus with chairshots to the back. Wilson and Prince tossed both Gallus members into the steel steps. Pretty Deadly hit Wolfgang with a modified Spilled Milk on the steel steps…
A Daba-Kato promo package aired. Kato said that Apollo Crews has forgotten about his past. He talked about how he was with Crews when he won the IC title, but Crews didn’t call him over when he returned to NXT. Kato said that Crews can’t stand on his own. Kato said Crews may have brought him into the world, but he’s going to take Crews out of it…
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks made their entrance…[c]
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from ringside and plugged NXT Stand and Deliver at the former Staples Center in Los Angeles…
Stevie Turner checked in from her pseudo-Twitch stream. She said the subject of her stream this week is Lyra Valkyria. She talked about how Lyra follows “The Morigan” which is a mythical Irish lore involving crows. She said that Lyra is talented, but she’s going to face Stevie Turner soon. Vic tried to get a question in, but Stevie cut off her stream…
John’s Thoughts: Where’s Cora Jade? Lyra and Jade were supposed to have a match a few weeks ago and Jade disappeared all of a sudden. It looks like Lyra is moving on for a bit. I hope Jade’s ok because she was doing some good work.
Von Wagner and Robert Stone made their entrance. Stone continued to berate Wagner on his way to the ring…
5. Tony D’Angelo (w/Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo) vs. Von Wagner (w/Robert Stone). D’Angelo hit Wagner with gut punches. Wagner came back with a leaping knee. D’Angelo came back with a double leg takedown. Wagner got to his feet and hit D’Angelo with a big boot. Von distracted himself by jawing with Stone. Wagner continued to glare at Stone while dominating D’Angelo. Wagner gave D’Angelo a body slam and elbow drop for a two count. Wagner worked on Tony with lariats in the corners.
Tony tossed Wagner into the corner to get a moment of respite. Tony rallied with Wagner with lariats and a Belly to Belly Suplex. Tony planted Von with a spinebuster. Tony D’Angelo hit Wagner with a pop up Scoop Slam for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Von Wagner via pinfall in 4:01.
Wagner and Stone continued to bicker at ringside. Kelly Kincaid entered the ring ane interviewed Tony D’Angelo about their thoughts on Dijak attacking them last week. Tony said they should be talking about Stacks, who could have had a title shot last week, but chose family, and allowed Tony to take the match. Tony said he knows ways to make Dijak disappear, but he would rather do this in the ring. Tony challenged Dijak to a “Jailhouse Streetfight”. Tony said that he’s going to put Dijak in solitary confinement. Tony said Dijak has 7 days to respond…
John’s Thoughts: On one hand, I actually like whatever they’re planning to do with Von Wagner and Mr. Stone. They’re definitely bubbling to something, some sort of character development from Wagner. The mystery as to the result is what is keeping this slow build intriguing. What I can’t buy into yet is the Dijak and D’Angelo feud. They had D’Angelo act melodramatic a few times during matches, and all of a sudden he’s a babyface? Nah, I don’t think that’s strong enough, and the crowd’s aren’t fully buying into him as a babyface to rally behind. I honestly think they need to add a layer to D’Angelo other than being the generic mob boss with only one mob member.
McKenzie Mitchell Nikkita Lyons backstage, who was on crutches. McKenzie asked Nikkita if she knows who attacked her. Nikkita said the doctors gave her a 12 month timeframe to return, but she wants to return before the year. She said she doesn’t know who attacked her because she was clipped from behind. Tiffany Stratton interrupted and said that people should be talking about “The Center of the Universe”. Nikkita said Tiffany is sus. Tiffany denied being the attacker, saying that if she attacked Nikkita, Nikkita would be out over a year. Tiffany taunted Nikkita and left…
Ivy Nile was psyching up Tatum Paxley backstage. Paxley looked nervous. Nile told Paxley to not listen to Isla Dawn and that she will always have Paxley’s back. Paxley continued to look nervous…[c]
Trick Williams was recovering in the trainer’s room. Carmelo Hayes showed up and congratulated Trick for having a good match against Ilja. Tyler Bate showed up to also congratulated Trick. Bate gave Trick an idiom about Trees and how they lead to strength. Melo introduced himself to Bate and said “I am him”. Trick and Melo left the trainers’ room…
Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn made their entrance to Alba’s theme…
6. Alba Fyre (w/Isla Dawn) vs. Ivy Nile (w/Tatum Paxley). Fyre took down Nile to start the match. Fyre gave Nile a slap to the chest. Nile fired up and tossed Fyre into the corner. Nile gave Fyre strikes in the corner and got a one count. Fyre tossed Nile throat first into the top rope. Fyre hit Nile with a front suplex. Fyre hit Nile with a PK. Fyre worked on Nile with methodical offense for a bit. Nile turned the tables with a huracanrana and jump kick.
Fyre escaped a body slam. Nile reversed a Gory Bomb into a rollup for a two count. Nile put Fyre in a Dragon Sleeper, but Dawn got on the apron for the distraction. Nile accidentally walked into Paxley who was also on the apron. Fyre hit Nile with a Superkick and Gory Bomb for the victory.
Alba Fyre defeated Ivy Nile via pinfall in 3:02.
John’s Thoughts: Cold match with an overbooked finish. This night has been filled with oddball match booking and this added to it. The crowd has been sitting on their hands a majority of the night (and were at the highest during the opener). God help us, we have a Jinder Mahal main event. Anyways, the Nile vs. Fyre match was just random. I continue to argue that Ivy Nile is being wasted. She has a good look. She’s decent in the ring. She has a bit of celebrity cred being a contestant of the Titan Games show. Whatever they’re doing between Paxley and Dawn, I hope it comes to fruition and leads to Paxley and Nile breaking up. Paxley has been an anchor to the career of the promising Ivy Nile.
A Bron Breakker promo package aired to hype Bron vs. Jinder for later in the show…[c]
The show cut to Kiana James and her busty secretary at her office. She had the NXT Women’s Tag Team Title set up on her desk. Fallon Henley arrived to apologize, but said James should have told her about Zack being her brother. James said she just wanted to test Henley’s trust. Henley said she agrees and apologizes. James accepted it. James brought up Henley potentially being jealous. Henley denied it. James told Henley to accept that she has Jensen’s best interest in mind. Both women shook on that…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Wes Lee about his next challenge as Champion. He said he would want to enter LA as champion, but he can’t look past the immediate future. Lee said he’s going to do another open challenge. McKenzie said that puts Lee at a disadvantage, and she wondered why? Lee said that’s just who he is. McKenzie and Lee high fived…
The following matches were advertised for next week: Zoey Stark vs. Meiko Satomura and Tyler Bate vs. Carmelo Hayes…
Jinder Mahal and Indus Sher made their entrance. Vic Joseph noted that Jinder Mahal lost to Seth Rollins in the inaugural NXT Championship Title Match when NXT started. Bron Breakker made his entrance. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
7. Bron Breakker vs. Jinder Mahal (w/Veer Mahan, Sanga) for the NXT Championship. Jinder gave Bron a Belly-to-back suplex to start the match. Jinder hit Breakker with a shoulder tackle. Breakker did a leapfrogg and gave Jinder a shoulder tackle in the next sequence. Jinder went for a leapfrog, but Breakker reversed it into a Spinebuster. Sanga dragged Jinder to ringside when Breakker went for a Steiner Recliner. Breakker hit Veer, Sanga, and Jinder with a Flip Dive. Jinder and Bron took each other out with lariats.
Indus Sher got on the apron, but they were dragged down by The Creed Brothers. The show cut to picture-in-picture with the referees and trainers running out to drag The Creeds and Indus Sher to the back.[c]
Breakker had Jinder in a shoulder stretch back from the break. Breakker hit Jinder with an overhead toss for a two count. Jinder dumped Breakker to ringside. Jinder slammed Bron’s face into the announce table several times. Jinder then tossed Bron into the steel steps.
[Overrun] Jinder tossed Bron into the steps again after breaking the 10 count. Jinder got a two count. Jinder worked on Bron with elbows to the neck. Bron reversed a suplex into a Vertical Suplex. Jinder and Bron traded boo-yay punches in the center of the ring. Breakker hit Jinder with Chained German Suplexes. Breakker hit Jinder with a spinebuster.
Breakker took down the singlet straps. Jinder rolled to ringside to avoid a spear. Breakker slammed Jinder’s head into the announce table. Jinder caught Breakker in the ring with a leaping knee. Jinder hit Breakker with a modified Jackhammer Suplex for a two count. Jinder gave Breakker mocking slaps to the face, saying “I’m the champion”. Breakker lept to the top rope to catch Jinder with a Frankensteiner. Breakker got a two count on Jinder.
Jinder blocked a diving bulldog with a boot to the gut. Breakker escaped a Khallas attempt and hit Jinder with The Spear for the victory.
Bron Breakker defeated Jinder Mahal via pinfall in 10:51 to retain the NXT Championship.
Carmelo Hayes appeared on the Crow’s Nest with a microphone in hand…
Before Melo could speak, the show abruptly cut to the WWE on Peacock splash screen, where NXT Stand and Deliver was selected. The show then cut to Grayson Waller in the production truck, continuing to taunt Shawn Michaels. Grayson Waller proposed Shawn Michaels appearing on The Waller Effect Talk Show at the Road Block episode of NXT. The show then cut away to the regularly scheduled USA programming…
John’s Thoughts: A good match that exceeded my low expectations. Low expectations, not because Jinder’s a bad wrestler, he’s a good technical wrestler. He just suffers from that Bobby Roode or Paul Levesque syndrome of being very very methodical in the ring to the point where he needs quick opponents to keep his offense interesting. I wouldn’t even say Bron carried him this week because Jinder looked to have a pep in his step. I’ve liked his promo work in NXT and wouldn’t mind seeing him get a run there. What also stood out from the match is the size difference. Jinder’s a big dude, which made Bron Breakker look like a cruiserweight in this match.
Breakker continues to deliver every time he’s in the ring, so that’s good. Only thing he’s missing is character development. He’s a bit bland now. The Grayson Waller and Shawn Michaels feuds continues to be very intriguing. Are they building up to a Waller vs. Michaels match? I don’t think so? Is Waller deserving of HBK coming out of retirement? Maybe (Before 2022, they were teasing Adam Cole vs. HBK)? We’ll see. That would be a huge honor bestowed to Waller if that happens. Shawn appearing on the talk show reminds me of Stone Cold coming out of retirement at Kevin Owens’ talk show. Either that or HBK will pull out a surrogate. Maybe Dragon Lee? We’ll see. As for this week’s show. Kinda dull. Lots of weird booking in undercard feuds, simple as that. How funny would it be if they purposely made the show look dull to make the main event look good (I’m kidding, I’m kidding! But that would be clever…)
Another nice night for the ladies, but I agree Jacy should’ve had a clean win the Gigi gets her revenge and attacks her as I don’t like the DQ finish. I feel like Indi’s locker room leader gimmick could be used for a perfect heel run. I’ve heard some people come up with the idea of having Carmella lead a faction of young NXT talent like Indi Hartwell and Cora Jade and a few other ladies. I think if they use those losses against her and turn Indi into Carmella’s right hand man that’ll get her back on track.
Speaking of Cora Jade where is she? We’ve gotten no update why she’s not on the show. I don’t think she’s injured either. Something’s going on why she was taken off television for a month now.
I liked the Roxanne and Satomura training scenes and Sol Ruca vignettes.
Thea Hail and Chase U is a great storyline. The only one over in Schism is Ava Raine, I’d put her with Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre honestly. I like the Tatum Paxley mystery too and what’s going on there and if she attacked Nikkita Lyons who showed back up tonight on crutches.