By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT Vengeance Day
Streamed live February 15, 2025 on Peacock (and Netflix internationally)
Washington, D.C. at the Entertainment & Sports Arena
Pre-show Notes
I had forgot to account for the pre show in the early start, so I’m going to just give a few quick notes. I’ll try to get a more detailed pre-show report after the show…
Meghan Morant and Sam Roberts were the pre-show hosts. In addition to the usual pre-match hype videos, there were several sit-down interviews with Bayley, Je’von Evans, and A-town Down Under…
Main Show Review
Separate shots of Oba Femi, A-Town Down Under, Bayley, Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Giulia were shown as they were arriving to the venue…
The intro video for the show aired, which featured highlights from past Vengeance Day shows…
Vic Joseph, Corey Graves, and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…
Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance to a really good reaction. Jaida Parker, Kelani Jordan, and Karmen Petrovic were shown watching the match from the crowd. Fatal Influence made their entrance…
1. Fallon Henley (w/Jacy Jayne, Jasmyn Nyx) vs. Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Stephanie started the match with a deep armdrag which Henley reversed into a armbar. Stephanie put Henley in a Front Chancery, which Henley escaped. Both women traded chain wrestling counters. Henley rolled to the ropes to prevent Stephanie from hitting Booker T’s current favorite wrestling hold. Stephanie and Henley continued to trade counters from the ground game.
Henley had a nice armdrag counter into a Juji Gatame. Stephanie escaped and hit Henley with a rope assisted triangle. Henley dropkicked Steph off the apron. Nyx distracted the referee so Jayne could get a cheap shot on Steph. A “ref you suck” chant ensued. Henley worked on Steph with methodical offense. Henley mocked Steph by riding Stephanie’s neck like a bull. Henley got a nearfall off a basement forearm.
Henley got another nearfall off a springboard Blockbuster. Henley and Stephanie traded Boo-Yay forearms. Steph escaped the corner with a Judo Roll. Henley prevented momentum by slamming Stephanie to the mat by the hair. Stephanie did the same to Henley. Steph hit Henley with a back hook kick and 619. Steph dialed up a crossbody and hit Henley with a Belly to Back suplex.
Stephanie hit Henley with Booker T’s favorite move, the humping face smashes to the mat. Henley recovered and tripped up Steph. Steph ducked a Shining Wizard and rolled up Henley for a two count. Henley got a moment of respite after hitting Steph with a Tornado Facebuster. Stephanie hit Henley with Sole Food and a Dragon Screw. Steph followed up with a meteora in the corner.
Henley hit Vaquer with a Pumphandle Suplex. Stephanie rolled up Henley for a two count. Jayne hit Stephanie with a right hand when the ref wasn’t looking (even though it kinda should have been in his peripheral vision). Stephanie staggered Henley with a headbutt. Henley used a back body drop to reverse Steph’s finisher. Stephanie dumped Henley to ringside and slammed her into the steel post.
Steph took down Nyx and Jayne with kicks. Stephanie ducked a Tiger Feint Kick and hit Henley with a modified Implant Buster on her knees from the apron. Stephanie hit all three Fatal Influence members with a crossbody to ringside. Vaquer hit Henley with a Package Shoulder Driver. Stephanie hit Fallon with a Corkscrew Moonsault for the victory.
Stephanie Vaquer defeated Fallon Henley via pinfall in 15:01 to become the new NXT Women’s North American Champion.
The commentators hyped up how Vaquer is the first South American born wrestler to become a champion in WWE…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome work from both women and a tale of two character development builds in terms of crowd reaction. The crowd was pretty tepid when Henley was on offense. That’s the result of how mediocre the development of Fatal Influence, which is hands-down, the Temu version of Toxic Attraction. Meanwhile, as seen from in the Royal Rumble and tonight, Stephanie Vaquer is getting monster reactions at arenas outside of the Performance Center. Since Day 1, she quickly adapted to the WWE in-ring style and it’s really fastracking her to a good connection with the audience. I’m surprised they put the belt on Stephanie, mostly because I visioned the North American title being a booster title for developmental talent, but at the same time putting the belt on her does boost the credibility of the belt. The credibility of the division is boosted with two strong women’s champions in Giulia and Vaquer.
An ad aired for WWE Evolve on Tubi…
A TikTok video was shown of the Sol Ruca and Zaria training montage that was teased on Tuesday’s NXT. Sol was having fun doing agility things at the beach, while Zaria was having a hard time getting into the fun workout (This was not as entertaining as the Von Wagner and Kyle O’Reilly training montage from the early NXT 2.0 days)…
Separate shots of Eddy Thorpe and Trick Williams were shown backstage…
Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura made their entrance. For some reason, Briggs had a smoking toy skeleton on his shoulder before the match. Nathan Frazer and Axiom made their entrance…
2. Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Frazer and Axiom quickly used quick tags and strikes to dump both opponents to ringsides. Axiom got the first pin attempt on Inamura. Inamura tagged in Briggs after giving Axiom a chop. Briggs hit Frazer and Axiom with big boots. Briggs chokeslammed Axiom on Inamura’s leg, which gave Inamura a nearfall. Inamura hit Axiom with some E Honda like sumo palmstrikes.
The crowd popped for Inamura’s stiff chops int he corner. Inamura no sold Axiom’s strong style chop. Inamura returned the favor with a chop that took down Axiom. Inamura dared Axiom to hit him with a chop, but Axiom hit him with the Golden Ratio kick. Frazer and Briggs tagged in. Axiom took down Briggs and knocked Inamura off the apron. Axiom and Frazer hit Briggs with dives for a nearfall.
Briggs caught Axiom out of the air into a backbreaker. Briggs hit Frazer with a Power Bomb. Briggs tossed Axiom into Inamura’s power bomb for a good nearfall, which Frazer broke up. Both teams soaked in “This is awesome” chants. Axiom gave Inamura a Gamengiri and Super Spanish Fly. Briggs met Frazer on the top rope and gave him a Super South of Heaven which also hit Frazer, to leave all four men on the mat.
Frazer hit Briggs with a Seth Rollins like Enzuigiri. Briggs hit Axiom with a Clothesline. Axiom caught Briggs with a Poisonrana. Inamura took down Frazer. Inamura hit Axiom with a Pounce. Frazer put Inamura in a sleeper, but Inamura fought through and also did a hellicopter on both men. Inamura gave Axiom a Death Valley Driver on Frazer to get a nearfall. Inamura pumped up a springboard, but Fraxiom both dodged his dive.
Briggs choked Frazer, but Axiom hit Briggs with a Asai Moonsault. Axiom and Frazer hit Inamura with a modified Total Elimination for the win.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom defeated Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs via pinfall in 10:24 to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Both teams shared respectful handshakes after the match. Suddenly, four masked men attacked both teams in the rings. The commentator noted that the four men were Dion Lennox and three other developmental wrestlers. After the mystery men took down the four men, they left to “who are you” chants…
John’s Thoughts: Fraxiom continue to be one of the most consistent acts in all of pro wrestling the last two years in terms of delivering stellar match after stellar match. They also continue this streak against a plethora of differing in-ring styles. On the other end, a good showing by Yoshiki Inamura in his second real look on WWE television. He doesn’t have the usual WWE body type, but it works for making him look unique, especially since he does some Sumo moves in the ring. He quickly won the crowd over to the point where the crowd was chanting his name. Looking forward to more of him while he’s on his NOAH excursion. The four developmental attackers? We’ll wait and see. For Dion Lennox, being a badass beats being a generic bookworm. He has good television presence, so here’s hoping this character shift works for him.
Vic Joseph hyped up WWE’s next PLE, Roadblock…
The show cut to the usual Italian restaurant that Tony D and the family eat at. The camera focused on Stacks recapping how Izzi Dame betrayed them and led to Tony D being put on the shelf. The camera panned back to show that Stacks was by himself. He said on Tuesday he was going to take the head off the snake to avenge The Family…
Separate shots were shown of Je’von Evans and Ethan Page warming up backstage…
A hype video aired for the Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe Strap Match…
The camera showed Mike Rome in the center of the ring where he went over the rules of the Strap Match. Eddy Thorpe made his entrance first. Eddy had the strap with him. The crowd showered Eddy with “Eddy Sucks” chants. Trick Williams made his entrance. Both men brawled before the bell and before they put on the straps. Trick was first to put the strap on after beating down Eddy. The match started after Trick put the boots to Eddy and put the strap on his wrist..
3. Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thrope in a Strap Match. Trick got the first nearfall of the match. Trick hit Eddy with a pop-up right hook. Eddy dumped Trick to ringside, but Trick yanked Eddy into the ropes. Eddy used the strap to drag Trick off the top rope. Eddy used the strap to tie Trick’s legs and put the boots to Trick. Trick rolled aside to dodge a diving Senton.
Eddy dodged from getting hit by the strap. Trick missed a boot to tie himself against the top rope. Eddy hit Trick in the back with a strap. Trick rallied at ringside with strikes. Eddy tackled Trick into the ringpost. Eddy used the strap to tie Trick to the steel post. Eddy beat up Trick while Trick was tied up. Eddy mugged for the crowd while they booed him.
Trick rolled up Eddy for a two count. Eddy came back with a backbreaker for a nearfall. Eddy used the strap to whip Trick into the turnbuckles. Trick fired up and rallied with right hands. Eddy tripped up Trick and stomped him into the turnbuckle. Trick came back with a side suplex and Fish Hook Crossface submission. Eddy got to the bottom rope, but there are no rope breaks in this match.
Trick dragged Eddy with the rope into a clothesline. The crowd chanted “Whoop Dat Trick” which led to Trick giving Eddy a spanking and beatdown with the strap. Trick hit Eddy with a kick and flapjacks. Eddy rolled to ringside after eating a Trick Shot. Both men traded kicks. Eddy low blowed Trick by yanking the rope. Eddy hit Trick with a Knee Plus and pinned Trick for the victory.
Eddy Thorpe defeated Trick Williams via pinfall in 10:58.
John’s Thoughts: Wowzers. I didn’t expect Eddy Thorpe to get a win over the 1A babyface of NXT; but I’m always happy when they put heat on up and coming heels in a strong way. This was Eddy Thrope’s best and most high profile showing in WWE so far. Eddy is not fully there yet, but I like the progression he’s really showing as a heel, after he felt stagnant as a character for years (as I mentioned, he hadn’t grown as a character since I saw him in APW back in 2017). I wonder what’s next for Trick, now that’s he taken a handful of L’s. I thought he was set for the NXT title match at Stand and Deliver, but how will they get him there? We’ll see… If that’s still the case…
An ad aired for WWE Evolve on Tubi…
Separate shots of Bayley and Cora Jade were shown as they were warming up…
A replay aired of Ricky Starks’s NXT debut on Tuesday (he was still unnamed on the pre-show and PLE). The show cut to a Starks Twitter promo where he hyped up the next NXT show where he will sign his WWE contract…
A hype video aired for Ethan Page vs. Je’von Evans…
Ethan Page made his entrance. Je’von Evans made his entrance and put in a mouth guard. Vic reminded viewers that WWE will not be liable if Evans gets injured since Evans signed a liability waiver. ..
4. “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Je’von Evans. Evans dumped Page to ringside and hit him with a Suicide Dive into the announce table (which was overshot, so credit to Page for protecting Evans as much as he could). Evans worked on Page with aggressive strikes on top of the announce table. Evans hit Page with a dive at ringside and a huracanrana in the ring. Evans got a one count after a Blue Thunder Bomb.
Page blocked a cutter, but was dumped on the apron and hit with a Superkick. Evans hit Page with a sweet looking springboard cutter on the apron. Evans tried to break Page’s jaw on the steel steps, but Page dodged the stomp. Page trapped Je’von’s leg and kicked the steel steps into it (which Vic noted, Page did to injure Dante Chen). Page focused his attack on Je’von’s injured leg.
Page dominated for a few minutes, working on the injured leg. Page hit Evans with a pop up power slam for a nearfall. Page then put Evans in an ankle lock on the injured leg. Page used a grapevine to prevent the initial rope break. Evans crawled his way over to the ropes for the break. Page made sure to use the most of his five count. A “F*ck you Ethan” chant ensued.
Evans jumped off one leg to hit Page with a Superman Punch. Page tripped Evans off the top rope and hit him with All Ego’s Edge for a nearfall. Evans dodged and blocked Page’s attempt to kick his jaw. Evans gave Page alternating hooks to take down Page. Evans knocked down Page with a front flip kick. Je’von held Page in place with his boot and stompped on Page’s jaw. Evans hit Page at ringside with a top rope clearing dive.
Evans went for a springboard, but Page punched him out of the air with a right hook. Vic noted Page hooked Evans in the jaw and knocked out his mouth guard. Page hit Evans with the Twist of Fate for the victory.
Ethan Page defeated Je’von Evans via pinfall in 12:00.
After the replays, Je’von was shown bleeding from the mouth while Page was laughing…
John’s Thoughts: This was a well paced match with a wonderful focus on storytelling. This was a good showcase of both men’s strong selling ability. Evans did a great job selling the long-term jaw injury and mid-match leg injury. Evans did a good job allowing Evans to get his hope and revenge flurry in. I really like the finish of this match because it made Ethan Page look strong, make his headhunting of Evan’s jaw pay off, and continue to build sympathy for Je’von Evans.
Sarah Schreiber interviewed Stephanie Vaquer about her thoughts on winning the North American Champion. She talked about making history. She said her night is not over because she’s going to stay to watch the main event…
Separate shots of Roxanne Perez and Giulia were shown as they were warming up backstage…
Austin Theory made his entrance first. Grayson Waller’s entrance theme cut off Theory’s which annoyed him a bit. Waller made his entrance and showboated in front of Theory. NXT Champion Oba Femi made his entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in ring championship match introductions…
5. Oba Femi vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship. Waller and Theory were on the same page, using tandem offense to get the numbers advantage on Oba. Oba dragged both men in and hit both opponents with a chokeslam. Theory put Oba in a sleeper, which allowed Waller to hit him with kicks. Oba hit both opponents with a double suplex. Waller put Oba in a Sleeper to take him off Theory.
Oba reversed a rolling Theory and Military Pressed Theory onto Waller. Theory and Waller used a clothesline to dump Oba to ringside. Theory got in Waller’s face when it looked him he was about to clock him with a hook. Theory and Waller shoved each other. As they were about to brawl, Oba dragged Waller to ringside. Oba hit both opponents with loud slaps to the chest. Oba cleared the announce table. Vic’s candy cup was spilled.
Oba tossed Waller into the steel steps. Theory used strikes to take control of the match over Oba. Oba recovered and tossed Theory to the mat. Oba chucked the steel steps into Theory. Waller used a drop toehold to duck Oba’s steel step shot. Waller DDT’d Oba on the steel steps. Waller dragged a chair to the ring. Waller hit Oba with grounded strikes. Oba tried to rally back, but Waller took him down with chair swings.
Waller put Oba on a chair. Oba recover and caught Waller out of the air and hit him with a Sidewalk Slam on the chair. Theory broke up Oba’s pin attempt. Theory hit Oba with a Slingshot Rolling Shotgun Dropkick. Vic noted that Theory was a former Evolve Champion and champion in Mexico. Oba used a right hook to stagger Waller on the top rope. Theory put Oba in an Electric Chair.
Oba held on to Waller for Theory to hit both opponents with a modified Electric Chair Tower of Doom. Theory got a two count off Oba. Oba pulled a table from under the ring, but was mugged by Theory and Waller. Theory held Oba in place on the table. Waller gave him an elbow drop through the table. A “holy shit” chant ensued. Waller took himself out with the elbow drop, so Theory tossed Oba back in the ring for a nearfall.
Waller yelled at Theory for trying to steal the match from him. Oba knocked Waller off the apron and planted Theory with a Spinebuster. Oba hit Theory and Waller in the same corner with a series of European Uppercuts. Oba shot put Theory across the ring. Waller blockdd a Yakuza kick with a chair, but got hit with a Spinebuster through the announce table.
Theory went for a chair shot, but Oba punched it out of the air. Theory hit Oba with a DDT and A-Town Down. Waller dragged the referee to ringside to prevent the pin. Graves called Waller a “Judas”. Theory argued with Waller, but was tossed around by Oba. Waller went for a rolling Stunner on Oba, but ended up hitting Theory with the move. Oba hit Waller with a Power Bomb for the victory.
Oba Femi defeated Grayson Waller and Austin Theory via pinfall in 13:12 to retain the NXT Championship.
After the match, the lights went out. When the lights turned back on, spotlights focused on Dion Lennox and the mystery masked developmental wrestlers in the crowd. The lights flashed again, leading to Dion Lennox and the three mystery wrestlers beating up Oba Femi and hitting him with a Shield Bomb to leave him lying…
John’s Thoughts: The build to this match was rushed and made no sense (GM Ava looking incompetent booking this). Rushed build aside, this match morphed into a very good pseudo-handicap match with Waller and Theory turning on each other at logical times. It was fun seeing Theory and Waller work singles again. They are dragging their feet with the breakup, but I really think Theory has the potential to come out of this as a top babyface if treated right. Theory has a lovable dopey personality that should get over with the crowd (I was a huge fan of his dopey personality when he was Johnny Gargano’s manchild “son” in the way, which I’m told is close to his real life personality). Oba looks strong
Sarah Schreiber interviewed NXT GM Ava about her thoughts on Oba Femi getting jumpped by the mystery men. Ava said the mystery men wanted to make an impact. She said she’ll deal with that later. Ava then talked about NXT being on the road in Ohio in a few weeks. Ava said it’s Lexis King’s hometown and he’s been annoying her about being on the show. Ava then tried to hype up Stand and Deliver.
The NXTNA Liason Ariana Grace showed up and thanked Ava for letting her be the NXTNA laison. Grace introduced Ava to her real life dad, Santino Marella (which they don’t directly mention). Santino is the authority figure on TNA Impact. Santino said he’s proud of Ava since he remember first meeting Ava as a little kid. Ava then said she was happy to talk with Santino about further collaboration between NXT and TNA…
The commentary team checked in from their destroyed announce desk. The following matched were advertised for the upcoming NXT on CW show: Jaida Parker vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Karmen Petrovic, Sol Ruca and Zaria vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson, Channing Lorenzo vs. Shawn Spears, and the contract signing of the (still unnamed) Ricky Starks…
The Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade made their entrance first. Bayley made her entrance with a Role Model T Shirt tied to her side (with the font being a throwback to her Hugger days). NXT Women’s Champion Giulia made her cool looking, as usual, entrance. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…
6. Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Bayley vs. Cora Jade for the NXT Women’s Championship. All four women yelled at each other with the crowd mostly behind Bayley. Bayley delivered hands to Roxanne and Cora. Giulia took down Cora and Roxanne with a Missile Dropkick. Cora and Roxanne went for a double Suplex on Giulia that was countered. All four women took turns going for rollups for a stretch of time. Bayley and Perez hit Giulia and Cora with stereo suicide dives.
Bayley hit Perez with a basement Uppercut. Giulia hit Cora and Roxanne with a Shotgun Dropkick. Giulia hit Cora and Roxanne with Face Wash Boots and got a two count off Roxanne. Giulia and Bayley had a showdown in the middle of the ring and soaked in NXT chants. Bayley and Giulia had a chain wrestling exchange. Giulia blocked a Rose Plant.
Giulia hit a botched move on Bayley which Corey called “ugly but effective”. Giulia and Bayley tossed Cora and Roxanne into each other. Giulia and Bayley hit Cora with a double suplex. Perez saved Cora from a double suplex. Cora and Perez pulled their punches and agreed to an alliance. Cora and Roxanne worked on Giulia with tandem offense.
They also double teamed Bayley. Perez hit Bayley with a springboard moonsault. Cora went for a knee on Giulia, but also hit Perez. The commentators wondered if the knee was intentional. Cora hit Giulia with a double stomp. Cora hit Giulia and Bayley with a top rope cannonball to ringside. Perez dragged Cora off the top rope and hit her with a Lou Thesz Press.
Bayley hit Perez with a Yakuza Kick. Bayley worked on Cora and Perez with forearms. Bayley hit Perez with a wheelbarrow assisted cutter which the commentators noted was the Meta-Girls finisher. Bayley hit Giulia with a Baseball Slide Dropkick. Bayley hit Cora and Perez with draping Stunners. Giulia hit Bayley with a Northern Lights Suplex. Bayley blocked a Armdrag.
Giulia put Bayley in an Octopus Hold. Giulia hit Bayley with a Crucifix Bomb. Perez broke up Giulia’s pin. Giulia put Perez in a crossface. Perez put Giulia in a counter crossface. Giulia got to her feet and hit Perez with a Nortnern Lights Bomb. Bayley and Cora broke up Roxanne’s pin. Bayley hit Cora with a Victoria Side Suplex for a nearfall. Bayley hit Giulia with a Sunset Buckle Bomb.
Perez hit Bayley with a high boot. Cora hit Perez with a knee in the corner. Cora hit Bayley with a Dirty Deeds DDT. Perez broke up Cora’s pin. Giulia hit Cora and Perez with Back Suplexes while they were arguing with each other. Cora hit all three opponents with a Tower of Power, which we usually see in Multi-women matches. All four women were on the mat. The crowd chanted “this is awesome”.
All four women got to their feet and had a slugfest. The brawl spilled to ringside. Jade hit Giulia with a Suplex at ringside. Perez hit Bayley with Pop Rocks at ringside. Perez hit Bayley with Pop Rocks in the ring. Cora rolled up Perez for a nearfall. Cora hit Perez with a Dirty Deeds DDT. Giulia knocked out Cora with a running knee strike. Giulia hit Perez with a running knee and Northern Lights Bomb for the victory.
Giulia defeated Roxanne Perez, Cora Jade, and Bayley via pinfall in 18:31 to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
After the match, NXT Women’s North American Champion Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance to confront Giulia in the ring. Both women posed with the title belts. The credits and signature flashed on the screen to close the show…
But wait? There’s more! Former TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace made her entrance to confront Giulia and Vaquer. Vic Joseph closed the show, hyping NXT’s women’s division as the best in all of pro wrestling…
John’s Thoughts: All four women worked hard in this match and delivered in the good amount of time given to them. One little minus of the match was Giulia and Bayley having a couple of moments where they weren’t in sync, but both women are pros and recovered nicely. I probably would have put a match between this and the NXT Championship match because it felt a little bit redundant having Cora and Roxanne tell the same at-odds story as Theory and Waller from the Men’s championship match.
I wasn’t the biggest fan of this PLE build. It was rushed and even had the Ava character look like an incompetent GM at points. The wrestlers delivered though and made this show worth watching. You also had meaningful debuts with whatever this Shield 2.0-ish faction showing up to deliver on the Test Pattern teasers and Jordynne Grace closing the show. The rich get richer and NXT, deserving so, can shamelessly flaunt that they hands down have the best women’s division in pro wrestling. That has to be subjective too as they don’t even have enough TV time across NXT and Impact to showcase their talented women. Overall, I’d say this show was definitely worth it and surpassed the build.
I loved how Ava looked at Santino and then Ariana and was about to say something (the obvious) and checked herself. In jokes always tickle my funny bone.