By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Taped December 13, 2023 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired December 26, 2023 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Duke Hudson and Andre Chase were already in the ring. Out Tha Mud got a full televised entrance. Tony D’Angelo and Channing Lorenzo were watching the match from the crow’s nest. If Chase U wins, they double their hood craps earnings, and if they lose they only get back their buy-in…
1. “Chase University” Andre Chase and Duke Hudson vs. “Out Tha Mud” Lucien Price and Bronco Nima (w/Scrypts). Price showed off his power early on against the smaller Chase. Chase rallied back with dropkicks. Hudson tagged in for some tandem axe handle strikes. Price regained control with gut punches. Hudson came back with shortarm shoulder tackles on Price. Chase and Hudson traded quick tags to keep the numbers advantage and isolate price.
Nima tagged in and worked on Chase with boots and a rope hung Bronco Buster. OTM cut the ring in half on Chase. Chase used a judo roll to escape the isolation and bring in Hudson for the hot tag. Hudson hit Price with a Yakuza Kick. Hudson hit Nima with a Bionic Elbow. Hudson gave Price a Death Valley Driver on top of Nima. Hudson tossed in Scrypts when he went for the distraction. Chase tagged himself in and missed a dive. Price hit Chase with a superkick. OTM hit Chase with an assisted spinebuster to give Nima the pinfall win.
Out Tha Mud defeated Chase University via pinfall 6:07 to earn a future NXT Tag Team Title shot.
Vic sent the show to the first NXT EOTY awards. The Creed Brothers won tag team of the year. Tiffany Stratton won female star of the year. Ilja Dragunov won the male superstar of the year…
Meta Four made their entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Expected outcome given the Chase U scandal storyline is just starting. Given how good Chase U as an act is, I’m starting to buy a bit into the goofy ode to Jim Harbaugh story. I was afraid a bit of OTM’s first big program being against the comedy tag team, but everything Chase U touches turns to gold no matter how goofy it is. Hoping we get more promo time from the OTM trio because there is a lot of potential there along with Reggie finally finding an act that’s natural to him. Plus points for Duke Hudson too, who is really good in in his hot tag sequences as a babyface.
Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams dap’d it up backstage. They were both worried about Ilja Dragunov getting injured by Ridge Holland. Trick said he’s considering delaying his title shot to get Ilja at 100%. Melo noted that several years from now people won’t be asking Trick if he beat Ilja at 100%, just that Trick won the title. Melo brought up how Lebron James won the NBA title in the COVID bubble and no one talked about it as a tainted victory. Melo noted that Trick needs to take advantage of the situation…
Eddy Thorpe was shown heading to the performance center. A graphic aired to lay out the NXT Underground rules…
John’s Thoughts: Melo may be from Boston, but it seems like based off everything we’ve seen from him, he might be a Lakers fan. As a Lakers fan, I respect that, especially since he’s from the hometown of our rivals. Another note, NXT is really good at doing those match graphics to avoid confusion with their gimmick matches.
Josh Briggs made his entrance…
2. Noam Dar (w/Oro Mensah, Lash Legend, Jakara Jackson) vs. Josh Briggs in a Rounds Match for the NXT Heritage Cup. Briggs showed off hit power early with a shove. Noam then asked for a test of strength, but Josh reached higher than Noam could reach. Noam then hit Briggs with Muay Thai clinch knees. Briggs tossed Noam away. Noam kept his distance and worked on Briggs with footsies. Briggs continued to come back with power moves.
Briggs hit Noam with a body slam and standing splash for a nearfall. Briggs put Noam in a Half Crab. Briggs hit Noam with a Pounce for a nearfall. The clock ran out before Briggs can hit Noam with a power bomb. [End of Round 1]
Briggs hit Noam with a sidewalk slam. Noam put Briggs in a Guillotine Choke, but Josh powered out. Noam then put Briggs in a Triangle, but Briggs escaped by deadlifting Noam away. Briggs hit Noam with a Clothesline from Hell for the first pinfall. [End of Round 2]
Josh Briggs pinned Noam Dar 1:19 of Round 2 to go up 0-1.
Round 3 started during the picture-in-picture.[c]
Noam spiked Josh with a DDT on the apron. Noam then hit Josh with a Nova Roller at ringside as the clock ran out. [End of Round 3]
Josh Briggs was bleeding from the mouth. Noam got fanned down by Lash Legend while also drinking his Space Jam drank. Noam worked on Josh with a series of pump kicks. Noam hit Josh with a diving punch for a nearfall. Noam hit Josh with a leg lariat for a nearfall. Noam paintbrushed Josh’s face with slaps. Josh came back wiht a Big Boot and Chokeslam for a nearfall. Dar tripped up Josh and gave Josh’s leg a double stomp. Noam hit Josh with a Judas Effect and put Josh in a kneebar.
Josh reversed the pressure and escaped with clubbing blows. Dar worked on Noam with elbows. Briggs gave Noam a right hand punch. Lash Legend hit Josh with a bucket while the referee was distracted. Noam got a two count. The rest of Meta Four got on the apron for some distractions. The referee turned around and saw Briggs hit Noam with the bucket to invoke a DQ.
Noam Dar defeated Josh Briggs via DQ to retain the NXT Heritage Cup.
Vic Joseph noted that they treat DQ’s like a knockout and it doesn’t get counted in the point system…
John’s Thoughts: Good match and one of Noam Dar’s best Heritage Cup matches in NXT US. Yes, there was the usual Meta Four cheating, but the size dynamic caused them to change things up a bit. I’m happy that Josh Briggs is finally getting a singles push in WWE and he’s living up to his potential as (possibly) WWE’s next big big man. The guy is doing a good job also doing traditional big man moves. I kinda want to see Briggs take the title off of Noam (as I say for most Noam opponents due to him burying the trophy in sports entertainment).
Axiom and Nathan Frazer were disappointed backstage at not winning male star of the year. Nathan then said he’s glad that Bron Breakker didn’t win. Bron walked up on Nathan talking crap about Breakker. Nathan said he’s only talking crap because he’s willing to say it in peoples faces. Frazer challenged Bron to a match. Bron said “be careful what you wish for”. After bron left, Nathan said Axiom could have warned him. Axiom said he was because he did a wink…
Cora Jade made her entrance…[c]
Karmen Petrovic made her entrance swinging around an actual Katana like a weeb (and I have no problem with that)…
3. Cora Jade vs. Karmen Petrovic. Cora shoved around Karmen a bit. Karmen came back with a rising back kick off a shortarm. Karmen got a two count off a Sunset Flip. Cora came back with a rising knee in the corner. Cora hit Karmen with a draping running elbow for a nearfall. Cora stomped a mudhole in Karmen in the corner. Cora worked on Karmen with methodical offense and trash talk. Cora missed a springboard stomp. Petrovic came back with a kick and superman forearms.
Karmen hit Cora with a hanging double kick and Essence of the Dragon King kick for a nearfall. Cora Jade hit Karmen with a Dirty Deeds DDT for the victory (She has been calling it “Jaded” but Jade Cargill’s in WWE now who has the Glam Slam Jaded).
Cora Jade defeated Karmen Petrovic via pinfall in 3:04.
Jade was about to attack Karmen after the bell, but Gigi Dolin ran out to run off Cora…
Dijak was shown arriving at the Performance Center…
Lexis King made his entrance…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good short match with Cora Jade making the developmental rookie look good in her short bursts of offense. I’ve never considered Jade a “ring general” or anything, so I didn’t know what to expect. Jade did good here and I like that it looks like they’re pushing her strong. Consider Cora as a candidate to take the belt off Lyra Valkyria (though I wouldn’t mind if Blair took the title either). Karmen is someone I’m high on in WWE. She’s cute, has sweet kicks, and I gotta show love to fellow weebs (and striking martial artists).
Riley Osborne made his entrance…
4. Lexis King vs. Riley Osborne in a semi-finals match of the NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament. Osborne showed off wristholds and cartwheels on Lexis. Lexis pushed Riley on the ropes for the break. Trey Bearhill made his entrance to watch the match on a chair at ringside. Lexis tripped Riley off the ropes and hit him with a springboard stomp for a two count. Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail were cheering on Riley from the Chase U section. Lexis put Riley in a Half Crab. Riley escaped off the cheers from Chase U.
Riley hit Lexis with a leg lariat and standing Red Arrow for a nearfall. Riley and Lexis traded power slaps to the chest. Lexis hit Riley with a backbreaker and straitjacket Backstabber for a nearfall. Lexis and Riley brawled to the top rope. Trey got to his feet and distracted King by slapping the chair. Riley shoved Lexis off the top rope and hit him with a pretty Shooting Star Press for the victory.
Riley Osborne defeated Lexis King via pinfall in 3:43 to advance to the finals of the NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament.
Trey Bearhill confronted Lexis in the ring and hit him with a slap to the chest. Bearhill then kept scratching Lexis in the back. Lexis ran off in fear of Bearhill…
Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer was hyped for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: While I had a feeling this distraction finish would happen due to them foreshadowing it last week, I’m still a bit surprised a bit they put Riley over Pillman Jr. Riley Osborne is a bit more seasoned in the ring than Lexis and it shows. My original pick to win the thing is still Riley Osborne due to him being the ringer of the tournament (even though he just recently signed he has more in-ring experience than the developmental wrestlers). Oba Femi wouldn’t be a bad pick, but Riley is someone you can throw into a PLE main event and trust to have a good match.
An ad aired for WWE’s NFL belts…
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov from No Mercy was voted as NXT’s Match of the Year. The American Badass Undertaker appearing on NXT to attack Bron Breakker was voted as NXT Moment of the Year…
Kelly Kincaid asked Ava about a Ilja Dragunov medical update. Ava said nobody knows, but Ilja is arriving to NXT this week to give us an update as to if he can compete at New Years Evil…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place. Booker said Nathan Frazer looks like a slab of chuck roast that Bron Breakker’s going to feast on…
5. Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer. Bron tossed away Nathan early on. Frazer stopped on a dime to throw off Bron, but Bron fought through with a lariat. Nathan rested a bit to come up with a gameplan. Baron Corbin was watching the match backstage in approval of what he was seeing. Frazer took down Bron with a side headlock takedown. Bron gave Frazer a backbreaker on the apron to break the hold. Frazer did a flip bump off a whip. Bron mocked Nathan with pushups.
Bron tackled Frazer several times into the corner. Frazer ran circles around Bron and hit Bron with a dropkick. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Bron worked on Nathan with ground and pound and a gutbuster for a nearfall. Breakker launched Frazer with a hip toss. Frazer rallied back with right hands. Bron ended that rally by turning Nathan inside-out with a Belly to Belly Suplex. Bron worked on Nathan with a bow and arrow stretch. Frazer escaped with a jawbreaker. Bron didn’t relent and kept with the boots. Nathan did a corkscrew to get to his feet and nail Bron with a leg lariat.
Frazer rallied back with right hands. Nathan dumped Bron to ringside to avoid a spear. Frazer hit Bron with a Suicide Dive. Frazer dropkicked Breakker into the steel steps. Breakker did a nice powerslam reversal off Nathan’s crossvbody for a nearfall. Frazer blocked a spear with a superkick for a nearfall. Breakker avoided a Phoenix Splash and hit Frazer with a Spear for the victory.
Bron Breakker defeated Nathan Frazer via pinfall in 11:42.
The camera cut to Baron Corbin watching the match on a monitor where he nodded and said “interesting”…
John’s Thoughts: Good match with a predictable outcome. Frazer is one of WWE’s better workers, so there’s problem in showcasing him. I’m curious if they’re going into a slump storyline with him given his recent string of losses. Meanwhile, Bron Breakker continues to spin his wheels, beat the people he supposed to beat, and lose his PLE matches (Though I thought they booked him right in Iron Survivor). This guy has been ready for a callup 8 months ago and I have no clue why they are having him stuck in NXT and not squashing people on Raw and Smackdown.
Drew Gulak, Miles Borne, Charlie Dempsey, and Damon Kemp were warming up backstage. Gulak introduced his group as the “No Quarter Catch Crew”. Each man gave a bit of trash talk. Gulak then challenged Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde to a six person match at New Years Evil…
Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley were consoling Josh Briggs on his loss. Jensen said he understands that Briggs wants to be a singles wrestler and thanks Briggs for supporting him when he started in NXT. Jensen said he also supports that Henley is spreading her wings too. Josh said “I love you guys”. Henley wondered if it was the end of the road for them. Briggs led them in a fist bump and told them they should do this one more time. After Briggs and Henley left, Jensen held out his fist and hung his head a bit…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good acting there that had me teared up a bit following this trio all throughout NXT and NXT 2.0. I kinda hope this isn’t the end of the line because they were starting to finally click as a team before being taken off TV. I also wouldn’t mind if they “don’t” turn Jensen heel off it because we can have a temporary breakup without the usual heel turn.
Ariana Grace showed up to Ava to snitch on Roxanne Perez attacking her. She said thankfully she has good bone structure to prevent a face injury. Grace said that Perez should enlist in Anger Management. Ava ended up noting that Perez requested a match against Grace at New Years Evil. Grace said the request , of course, was rejected? Ava said the match wasn’t rejected and will happen next week…
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Vic sent the show to Sarah Schreiber who conducted a sitdown interview backstage with both Lyra Valkyria and Blair Davenport. Sarah asked both women why it took so long for them to face each other. Blair said Lyra blew out her knee in the UK and has been ducking out on her. Lyra said she hasn’t been ducking and beat Becky Lynch for the women’s title while Blair is jumping people in the parking lot.
Blair said she’s been jumping people to catch people’s attention with her attacks while main roster stars are putting Lyra on a pedestal. Lyra said her attacks backfired because people will be coming for revenge due to Blair acting like a coward. Blair said she’s not a coward for going through several women in the Iron Survivor. Lyra said that there’s a difference between Blair and her, Blair wants to be called “champion” while Lyra wants to be the very best. The segment ended with a face-off between both women…
Entrance for the next match took place…
5. Oba Femi vs. Tavion Heights in a semi-final match of the NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament. The match started with a collar and elbow lockup. Oba used his weight to block a suplex and hit Tavion with a back elbow. Tavion hit Oba with a reverse X Factor. Oba came back with overhead blows and a knee drop for a nearfall. Oba hit Tavion with a backbreaker for a nearfall. Oba worked on Tavion with methodical offense. Oba tossed Tavion like a boulder after Tavion tried to rally back. Oba hit Tavion with a running uppercut for a nearfall.
Heights put Oba in a Fireman Carry and hit him with a Death Valley Driver followed by a German Suplex. Tavion gave Oba a Belly to Belly. Tavion tossed Oba back in the ring. Oba gave Tavion a stiff lariat. Oba hit Tavion with a Power Bomb for the victory.
Oba Femi defeated Tavion Heights via pinfall in 4:10 to advance to the finals of the NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament.
Riley Osborne and Oba Femi faced off after the match…
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough match between two of WWE’s developmental projects. A little bit of Oba Femi’s weaknesses showed off here as he was selling way to much while not being too confident with his offense. I was actually more impressed by the Olympian Tavion who has looked very dynamic the last two weeks. That said, I’m still on the Oba Femi hype train. People joke about Lashley being “Black Lesnar”, but look at this Oba guy! He’s a brick house and screams “next big thing”. He just needs to develop in the ring. First step, is he needs to start destroying fools. Can’t they bring in indie guys from Florida? Or even their 100 or so people in their NIL program? I wouldn’t put the title contract on him because he’s still green.
Kelly Kincaid caught up with Ilja Dragunov in the parking lot who was sporting a neck brace. Ilja said he’s looking for Trick Williams…
Gallus made their entrance. Joe Gacy made his entrance during Gallus’s entrance, from the crowd…[c]
A replay aired of Ridge Holland dropping Ilja Dragunov on his neck (kayfabe) last week (ugh…)…
A tweet aired of Ridge Holland apologizing to Ilja. A Ridge Holland exclusive interview was advertised for next week…
6. Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey (w/Wolfgang, Mark Coffey). Both Joe’s traded right hands. Gacy managed to drop Joe Coffey and hit him with a senton. Joe Gacy walked up to Vic Joseph to say random things. Joe Coffey hit Gacy with a suicide dive and told the announce team to remember him. Joe hit Joe with a backbreaker. A “Joe Forever” chant ensued. Coffey hit Gacy with a twisting Vader Bomb for a nearfall. A “Joe is gonna kill you” chant ensued. Gacy rallied back with a hands.
Gacy hit Coffey with a Saito Suplex. Gacy followed up with a backdrop. Gacy hit Coffey with a cannonball dive at ringside. Gacy hit Coffey with a Uranage. Gallus got on the ropes for the distraction. Hank and Tank ran out to brawl with Gallus to the back. Coffey hit Gacy with a flying knife chop. Gacy ducked Coffey’s discus lariat and hit him with his Handstand Lariat finisher for the clean win.
Joe Gacy defeated Joe Coffey via pinfall in 3:45.
John’s Thoughts: A fun match where the highlight was the crowd having fun with the battle of two Joe’s. This was also hard to review a bit due to there being two Joe’s and two Coffey’s in the segment. Anyways, the finish confuses me a bit. NXT is very start and stop on Joe Coffey who’s the most charismatic and main event ready of the Gallus boys. They gave Mark and Wolfgang more of a credible push while he’s always stuck in goofy midcard stories. It’s also interesting that they’re doing an “unhinged babyface” story with Gacy. Gacy is kinda reminding me of his old CZW tag team partner Sami Callihan who acts like this when he’s a crazy babyface. At least Gacy isn’t doing a thumbs up thumbs down thing.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde who accepted Drew Gulak’s crew’s challenge. Dragon said they are going to prove that high flying is better than the ground game. Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice showed up. Del Toro and Wilde were happy to see their old Legado Del Fantasma teammate. Elektra said she was also there to introduce them to her current tag partner Lola Vice…
Eddy Thrope was warming up backstage. Dijak was shadowboxing at another part of backstage….[c]
An ad aired for WWE’s New Years themed shows next week…
The following matches were plugged for New Years Evil: Lyra Valkyria vs. Blair Davenport for the NXT Women’s Championship, Fallon Henley vs. Tiffany Stratton where the loser becomes the other women’s servant, No Quarter Catch Crew vs. Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro, and Joaquin Wilde, Roxanne Perez vs. Ariana Grace, and Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams for the NXT Championship. Vic noted that the NXT Championship match may get delayed depending on what Ilja says tonight…
Developmental wrestlers surrounded a ropeless ring for NXT Underground (unfortunately there were no strippers, Shane McMahon, and Daba Kato). Eddy Thorpe made his entrance wearing war paint. Dijak made his entrance. Alicia Taylor was in the ring for formal in-ring and rules introductions…
John’s Thoughts: Alicia Taylor has a nice mohawk hairstyle tonight. Reminds me of an interview that Alicia did where she told the interviewer that Paul “Triple H” Levesque told her that she was not “metal” enough and she has to be more “metal” to be a good ring announcer. Never change, Hunter! I also wonder if the trick still works that you can get a push on the main roster if you become more “metal”.
7. Eddy Thrope vs. Dijak in an NXT Underground match. Thorpe went for an early triangle. Thrope hit Dijak with a kick combination and Saito Suplex. Dijak blocked an elbow drop with a choke. Dijak stopped another Triangle Attempt with a chokeslam. Dijak tossed Eddy into the ringpost heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Dijak hit Thorpe with a flip dive at ringside. Eddy hulked up to block a choke. Thrope hit Dijak with a boot and German Suplex. Dijak fended back Eddy with elbows and escaped a Saito Suplex. Thorpe hit Dijak with a Brainbuster. Dijak got to his feet and broke a Rear Naked Choke by slamming Eddy to the mat. Dijak created some separation and hit Eddy with a Cyclone Boot. Dijak hit Eddy with a 2nd Cyclone Boot.
Thrope blocked a third boot with a enzuigiri. Dijak rolled out of a scary German Suplex to ringside. Dijak hit Eddy with Feast Your Eyes. Dijak randomly attacked developmental wrestlers. Eddy recovered and backdropped Dijak into the apron. As he’s been doing, Dijak undid his belt and wrapped it around his hand. This was the beat that Dijak attacked Eddy’s tree with. Thrope blocked a belt punch and hit Dijak with an Impaler DDT.
[Overrun] Thrope got Dijak’s belt and hit Dijak with hit to avenge his tree. Thrope put Eddy in a Rear Naked Choke. Dijak escaped by using the ringpost to toss Thorpe into. Thrope reversed a power bomb with a Frankensteiner. Thrope hit Dijak with an elbow drop at ringside. Thrope hit Dijak with Manifest Destiny (Impaler DDT). Dijak told the ref that he wasn’t quiting.
Thrope went back to the rear naked choke while Dijak was standing. Thorpe wouldn’t let go after Dijak kept slamming him around at ringside. Dijak kept his consciousness and dragged Eddy to the top of steps. Dijak turned around and started to fade. The referee declared that Dijak was still conscious. Thorpe hit Dijak with Manifest Destiny through the announce table. Dijak was knocked out.
Eddy Thrope defeated Dijak via knockout in 15:47.
Eddy stood on steel steps while the developmental wrestlers cheered Eddy on…
The show cut to a cinematic contract signing between Ilja Dragunov and Trick Williams. Trick noted that he’s not going to hold back even if Ilja is injured. Trick signed the contract He said he’s willing to delay the match to wait for Ilja to be 100%. Ilja said unfortunately nothing or no one will stop him. Ilja took the neck brace off and signed the contract. Ilja and Trick shook hands to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: While the match dragged a bit before the commercial break, it really picked up once they started leaning into the ropeless ring gimmick. NXT knows what they have in Dijak as they are acknowledging that he usually has the show stealing matches on any given night. I thought that this was Eddy Thorpe’s best night in WWE so far. Again, he’s still lacking in terms of charisma (which has been his problem when I first saw him in 2016), but he always stood out when you put him in the ring for over 12 minutes. This match also did a good job establishing Eddy’s new “Manifest Destiny” finisher (which is a good name for a finisher given his heritage in a re-appropriation way).
This week’s NXT was a step up from last week’s. Last week’s was a good show but it had that tasteless ending (which had me feel bad to Ridge Holland after all the cyberbullying and death threats he received from the Big E accident). They are laying it on thick that Melo’s going to betray next week, so let’s see how they actually execute it. This week they have Melo trying to convince Trick to use more dirty tactics. Next week’s show should be good because WWE does like having big moments happen on their New Years Evil shows…
Toward the end of the Thrope-Dijak match, the censors missed the “Holy Shit” chants they normally mute.