NXT TV results (1/7): Moore’s review of The Rock’s appearance, Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe for the NXT Title, Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women’s Title

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

NXT TV “New Year’s Evil”
Los Angeles, California at the Shrine Auditorium
Aired live January 7, 2025 on The CW

[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer. Vic Joseph introduced the show emanating from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, CA. Separate shots of Roxanne Perez, Giulia, Oba Femi, Eddy Thorpe, and Trick Williams as they were arriving to the venue. A black truck pulled up to the parking lot. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson emerged from the truck to arrive at the venue…

Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Vic welcomed a former NXT commentator “home”. Vic Joseph welcomed Corey Graves to the commentary table…

Giulia made her entrance first followed by Roxanne Perez. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…

John’s Thoughts: The lighting of the legendary Shrine Auditorium is a bit dark tonight. I remember the lighting being a lot better during the award shows and events I’ve watched and attended at the venue. That said, good to see NXT on the road and out of the Performance Center.

1. Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for the NXT Women’s Championship. Both women started at a stalemate immediately after a few chain moves. Giulia reversed a few of Perez pin attempts. Perez did a cartwheel dodge into a slap to mock Giulia. Giulia yelled and rallied with headbutts. Giulia caught Perez with a forearm in the corner. Giulia hit Perez with a Missile Dropkick.

Graves said Giulia reminds him of “Wrestle Kingdom Shinsuke Nakamura”. Giulia caught Perez with a face wash kick in the corner. Perez came back by hyperextending Giulia’s arm on the top rope. Perez then bent the elbow of Giulia on the bottom rope. The show went to picture-in-picture break.[c]

Perez and Giulia traded Boo-Yay right hands. Giulia took down Perez with a running jump boot. Perez recovered and hit Giulia with a top rope Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Perez stomped a mudhole on Giulia’s injured left arm. Perez no-sold Giulia’s Saito Suplex. Giulia no-sold Perez’s Saito Suplex. Both women traded right hands in the center of the ring. Perez yanked Giulia to the mat by the left arm.

Perez caught Giulia with a low Suicide Dive at ringside. An NXT chant ensued. Giulia met Perez on the top rope and hit her with a Underhook Superplex. Giulia hit Perez with a spinning Drill Claw for a nearfall. Perez reversed Giulia into a Crossface. Perez went for Pop Rocks, but Giulia escaped. Perez sent Giulia to ringside with a Shotgun Dropkick. Giulia caught Perez at ringside with a Northern Lights Bomb.

Both women were knocked out at ringside. Cora Jade tossed Perez in the ring to help her beat the count. Giulia recovered to break the count. Perez hit Giulia with Pop Rocks. Giulia kicked out of the pin. Perez whickly went into a Fujiwara Armbar on Giulia. Giulia escaped. Giulia hit Perez with a Switch Knee and Northern Lights Bomb for the victory.

Giulia defeated Roxanne Perez via pinfall in 11:14 to become the new NXT Women’s Champion. 

Medics were checking on Eddy Thorpe, who was writhing in pain backstage. NXT GM and Rock’s daughter Ava showed up and rolled her eyes. Eddy Thorpe claimed he was attacked. Ava said he wasn’t buying it this time after what he pulled right before the Iron Survivor Match…

Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance…[c]

John’s Thoughts: A solid women’s match with the expected outcome. While solid, Giulia is still holding back from what I’ve seen from her in Japan. I get that she has to tone down a bit to match the WWE style, but there a happy medium between the two styles. I point at Stephanie Vauqer who is having her in-ring look strong since coming to WWE. That said, Giulia doesn’t necessarily need to rely solely on in-ring because her look, charisma, and aura are off the charts amazing. Is Perez finally main roster bound? She’s done everything there is to do in NXT. Either that or they set her up for a rubber/stipulation match with Giulia for Mania weekend given how both women have one win against each other.

Vic Joseph plugged tickets for the NXT Vengence Day PLE in Washington DC…

A replay aired of Ethan Page stomping out the jaw of Je’von Evans. The show cut to Je’von Evans trying to cut a promo, but he needed subtitles because his injury forced him to mumble. Evans said he can’t talk because his jaw is wired shut. He said he cant sleep, eat, or talk. He said he’ll find Ethan for what he did to Cedric and what he did to his jaw. He said he’s going to make Ethan feel his pain…

John’s Thoughts: Another awesome promo in the Ethan Page and Je’von Evans feud. NXT has done a great job taking advantage of the violence in the jaw-breaker moment and using it to elevate both Ethan Page and Je’von Evans. Both Evans and Page were joyful and playful characters before this feud and this feud has brought out a nice dark and serious evolution in both men. Page is showing he has main event potential. Evans is also showing a main event ceiling, and he’s only 21 (or is he 20?).

Lola Vice got a televised entrance with Jordan and Jade already in the ring…

2. Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Cora Jade vs. Lola Vice to become number one contender to the NXT Women’s North American Championship. All four women traded strikes early on. Jordan knocked out Jade at ringside. JOrdan rolled up Vaquer and Vice for nearfalls. The three women in the ring traded rollups with Jade running in to break it up.

Jordan dumped Stephanie and Vice to ringside with a dropkick. Jordan blocked Jade’s huracanrana with a cartwheel. Jade and Jordan took each other out with clotheslines. Jordan recovered and hit Vice with a Corkscrew Plancha at ringside. Jade hit Jordan with a cannonball from the apron heading into picture-in-picture.[c]

Stephanie caught Jordan with a Dragon Screw on the apron. Vaquer then hit Jade with a Meteora in the corner. Vice worked on Vaquer and Jordan with Tae Kwon Do kicks. Vice hit Vaquer  with her I’m a Latina hip attack. Jordan dodged a hip attack. Jade tried to hit Vice with a high knee in the corner, but Vice dumped Jade to ringside. Vaquer hit Vice and Jade with a top rope dive to ringside.

Jordan caught all three opponents in the corner with a Triangle Moonsault. Vaquer rolled through a crossbody to get a two count on Jordan. Vice broke up Vaquer and Jordan’s pin attmepts. Jordan hit Jade with an Angle Slam. Jade dodged Jordan’s 450. Vaquer dumped Vice to ringside. Vaquer hit Jordan with the Package Neckbreaker for the victory.

Stephanie Vaquer defeated Kelani Jordan, Lola Vice, and Cora Jade via pinfall in 9:00 to become number one contender to the NXT Women’s North American Championship.

John’s Thoughts: Two women’s matches to open the show and two entertaining ones. This one stood out in that all four women put in a lot of hard work. Interesting that they have Vaquer set to go after the mid-card women’s title as she has been in the main title mix (which has me thinking they might be setting up for a Giulia vs. Perez feud to stretch to either the Rumble or Mania). Zaria is also still floating around. NXT’s women’s division is really stacked. They really need to call up some of these women to clear room here and the main roster needs the talent.

Ava was speaking to Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn and told them that they will face Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson for a shot at the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Sarah Schreiber showed up and asked Ava for an update on Eddy Thorpe. Ava said that Eddy was faking it again. Oba Femi showed up and said that Eddy wasn’t faking it because he attacked Eddy this time for real. Oba said he was only doing it because of what Eddy did to him last week when he hit him with the NXT Year End Trophy…

Fatal Influence made their entrance…[c]

A Out tha Mud promo aired with Lucien Price and Bronco Nima. Both of them talked about how real they were while Axiom and Frazer were bickering like kids. They hyped up how they were going to become new champs and drag Fraxiom through the mud…

Gigi Dolin, Shotzi Blackheart, and Tatum Paxley made their entrance. The heels jumped the babyfaces before the bell.

3. Gigi Dolin, Shotzi, and Tatum Paxley vs. “Fatal Influence ” Jacy Jayne, Jasmyn Nyx, and NXT Women’s North American Champion Fallon Henley. Fatal Influence dominated early on. Shotzi tagged in and took control of the match. Shotzi hit Fallon with a suplex in the corner for a nearfall. All six women entered the ring and brawled. The faces dumped the heels to ringside.

Henley swatted Shotzi out of the air with her right hand during a suicide dive attempt (well, at least Shotzi didn’t land on her head here, i think). All six women traded moves at ringside heading to regular break.[c]

The heels cut the ring in half on Tatum Paxley back from break. Paxley got a window of opportunity after a Back Suplex on Jayne. Gigi tagged in and knocked Henley and Nyx off the apron. Gigi hit Jayne with a strike combo and shortarm kick. Gigi hit Jayne with a legsweep for a nearfall. Jayne took out Gigi with a Superkick. Henley tagged in. Jaune revesred a double suplex and hit Jayne and Henley with a double neckbreaker.

Shotzi tagged in and hit Jayne and Henley with a crossbody. Shotzi hit Henley with a assisted neckbreaker for a two count. Gigi and Paxley took out Henley with double enziguris. Gigi and Tatum took out Nyx and Jayne with double Asai Moonsaults. Shotzi hit Henley with a diving Senton for the victory.

Shotzi, Gigi Dolin, and Tatum Paxley defeated Fatal Influence via pinfall in 10:14.

Vic noted that Shotzi hs just pinned the NXT Women’s North American Champion…

John’s Thoughts: NXT’s women’s division is so deep and talented that the men are struggling to get TV time on the CW show (which is a great problem to have given how it’s more common to have this problem flip flopped on other shows). Another hard and well worked match showcasing the pletora of talent in the developmental roster. They are moving main roster wrestlers here too. They really need some callups, because even Level Up (which got cancelled recently) has a ton of women ready for the main show including an Olympic gold medalist.

[Hour Two] NXT GM Ava berated Ethan Page for busting Je’von Evans’s jaw. Page talked about how that moment was sad, but it has been in every highlight package. Page complained about not being booked for the show. Ava’s dad, The Rock, walked in and confronted Ethan Page. Both men acknowledged each other and shook hands. Rock said he heard a lot about Page, but not good.

He talked about Page breaking a guy’s jaw 9Evans) and a guy’s wrist (Alexander). Page was proud about that. Rock said Page better look out for revenge from Evans. Rock then said if Page needs any advise to seek him out. Rock said he’s the Final Boss of WWE, but Ava is the final boss of NXT. Rock said he and Page are cool as long as Page is cool with Ava. Page said he was cool. Rock said he’s looking forward to seeing Page on the main roster.

As Page left, Rock slapped him on the ass and said “get yo sweet ass out of here” (what?). Ava then hyped up how exciting the NXT fans were and that all Rock has to do is speak from his heart to them. Rock then whispered something to himself which was muted out by the censors…

Lexis King made his entrance heading into picture-in-picture…[c]

The NQCC entrance actually took up the entire PIP break. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…

John’s Thoughts: Rock has been very odd last night and tonight. He’s in happy go lucky mode. Acting like he wasn’t a evil heel the last time we saw him. Even more odd him with him sorta being indifferent to heel Ethan Page breaking a man’s jaw. Rock was so good in his last run, to the point where I will give him the benefit of the doubt of this being a part of the story and him trying to get everyone to let their guard down. Nice wholesome moment between father and daughter. They didn’t acknowledge it, but if you know you know (and how can’t you know given the resemblance).

4. Charlie Dempsey (w/Wren Sinclair, Myles Borne, Tavion Heights) vs. Lexis King in a standard match for the NXT Heritage Cup. Both men started even trading technical chain moves. King got the advantage with an armbar. King dropkicked Dempsey off the apron and hit the three NQCC male members with a top rope crossbody heading into break.[c]

King got a two count after a chop and Northern Lights. Dempsey got a key lock locked in after a kickout. King escaped by slamming Dempsey into the corner and hitting him with a power slam for a nearfall. Dempsey was bleeding from the forehead. Dempsey reversed a crossbody into a Juji Gatame. King escaped with a Deadlift Power Bomb. Dempsey kicked out at two. Dempsey reversed a neckbreaker into a Crossface Chickenwing.

Dempsey pummeled King with strikes after King grabbed the ropes. King and Dempsey ran into each other to take each other out. Dempsey got a two count after a backslide. Dempsey went for a leapfrog, but King’s head went into Dempsey’s crotch accidentally. Lexis King hit Dempsey with his swinging neckbreaker finisher for the victory.

Lexis King defeated Charlie Dempsey via pinfall in 11:01 to become the new NXT Heritage Cup Champion. 

John’s Thoughts: Decent match. I do like King’s improvement in the ring which he’s shown working more of a babyface style. They are also telling the story where he’s sorta “cheating where it counts”. Maybe. He’s also playing it like he has no idea and that every fluky thing has just been circumstance.

Ava had Fallon Henley and Stephanie Vaquer in the room to set up the next women’s NA title match. Shotzi walked in and said that she should be in the match because she just pinned Henley. Vaquer said she had to beat three of NXT top women to get a title shot. Henley told Shotzi and Stephanie to face each other, then they can figure out who is number one contender…

Joe Tessitore was shown watching the show in the front row…

Separate shots of Oba Femi and Trick Williams walking backstage were shown. NXT Champion Trick Williams made his entrance…[c]

Oba Femi made his entrance. No Eddy Thorpe. The referee advised Mike Rome to go through with the introductions. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…

5. Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi for the NXT Championship. Oba hit Trick with a few shoulder tackles to the gut. Oba planted Trick with a Belly to Back suplex. Trick escaped a back hold with a jawbreaker. Trick hit Oba with a Falcon Arrow for a two count heading into regular break.[c]

A picture and picture showed Eddy Thorpe fumbling around backstage, holding a steel chair. Trick sidestepped Oba to send Oba into the ringpost. Oba punched Trick on the top rope. Trick reversed Oba into a Super Book End for a nearfall. Both men traded fighting spirit running blows. Trick staggered Oba and hit him with a Neckbreaker. Trick hit Oba with a Body Slam and Flapjack.

Oba reversed a Tornado Boot into a pop up chop. Trick reversed a Pop Up Power Bomb into a DDT and floored Oba with a Tornado Boot for a nearfall. Oba caught Trick with a Uppercut to block a Trick Shot. Oba hit Trick with a Power Bomb and got the visual pinfall, but Eddy Thorpe pulled the referee away.

Oba dragged Eddy in and hit him with a few Yakuza Kicks. Oba tossed Eddy like a boulder. Trick caught Oba with the Trick Shot Knee while Oba was upper cutting Eddy. Oba kicked out at two. Trick went for another Trick Shot, but Oba sidestepped him and hit the Trick shot on Eddy’s chair, taking himself and Eddy out. Oba Femi hit Trick with a Last Ride for the victory.

Oba Femi defeated Trick Williams and Eddy Thorpe via pinfall in 10:43 to become the new NXT Champion. 

After the match highlights, Oba Femi and Giulia posed at the top of the ramp with both of the main NXT Championships. Confetti and smoke cannons shot off. Vic hyped Rock appearing after the picture-in-picture break. During picture in picture, HBK and the production crew congratulated Giulia and Oba backstage…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Eh? Not really much of a match, and it didn’t really click into any gear or drama. This feud has been extremely overbooked to overprotect both Oba and Trick. Did they go with the overbooked finish just so they didn’t go with the expected lampshade finish of having Eddy take Trick’s pin? I don’t think it was worth it because it just made things contrived. Can we give Eddy ten minutes to wrestle since ya’ll don’t know how good this guy is yet? I also haven’t seen this guy wrestle his great matches since APW in 2017 or 2018, so I hope he’s still just as good (but it looks like the coaches in NXT clearly see how good he is by how much they put him out there, but they won’t let him work his magic).

Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson vs. The Unholy Union and Fraxiom vs. OTM for the Tag Team Championships were advertised for next week…

The Rock made his entrance to his heel Final Boss theme. They let Rock have his long entrance and poses (Uhm? This is network TV Rocky. I don’t think the Local News is going to allow Dwayne to get an overrun). Rock soaked in the chants from the Shrine Auditorium crowd. Rock pointed to his forearm to signify the goosebumps he was getting. Rock soaked in “Rocky” and “NXT” chants. Rock did the Samoan chant to start his promo before saying he loved the crowd. Rock acknowledged he was taking up time and only had six minutes.

He then said his several catchphrases. Rock then said everywhere he went from gym, to church, to the strip clubs, everyone asked him “why you so mean to Cody?” (in a baby voice). Rock then talked about him giving Cody his flowers last night for kicking ass. Rock talked about people then complaining about Rock being too nice to Cody. Rock said he’s always thinking 20 steps ahead and everyone should just enjoy the ride that Rock is taking them on.

Rock was then taken aback again and pointed out he only has two minutes. He said to screw all that because they were going all night. Rock was censored a bunch of times. Rock apologized for the bad language. Rock talked about asking the people in charge to go to NXT, but didn’t know what to say. He said Ava told him to feel the crowd and he’ll know what to say. Rock said all he wants to do is thank the crowd because going to the Intuit Dome last night was the hot Hollywood ticket.

Rock said you “had” to go to Raw, but NXT is the Shrine Auditorium is where you “Want” to go to. Rock said it’s easy to go to the place with all the stars. Rock was censored for another sentence. Rock said said the fans need to know how important they are. Rock said the wrestlers in the back in NXT can be in the main event of Mania in three years, or they can be out of the business. Rock said what’s most important is how the crowd reacts.

Rock talked about wrestling in Memphis as Flex Cavana. He said no matter what, he came out for the crowd. Rock was then rushed off the show as the Paul Levesque, Shawn Michaels, and Lee Fitting Executive Producer credits closed the show…

John’s Thoughts: Well, he didn’t really get a full promo out. We all knew, and he knew that he was not getting this promo out. His entrance was too long, he soaked in cheers too long, and he lost his way in terms of focus. Maybe he took too many Tequila shots from his Tequila brand? (I kid, I kid, but I did get a chuckle of Raw last night where he was chugging Tequila shots backstage and then jumping right in his truck to drive a vehicle. I’m assuming he sobered up or drank apple juice). That said, this was fine.

The Rock has that natural charm and charisma that can carry him even without a real promo. It would have been cool of WWE to have had some solid written things for him last night and tonight, but it didn’t hurt WWE to have him go out and wing things. This reminded me of when they sent CM Punk out there on NXT and he meandered. He’s still a net positive on the show and I’d be intrigued to see if he did a boost in the final quarter hour. As for the show, solid show to start. The women had the better matches of the night. The Heritage Cup match was okay for an angle, but the main title match was a bit too overbooked and I think Oba deserved a bit better than that in terms of crowning him as champ (I assume we’ll get a more “real” match coming down the road very soon).