Powell’s NXT Vengeance Day Hit List: Giulia vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade for the NXT Women’s Title, Oba Femi vs. Grayson Waller vs. Austin Theory for the NXT Championship

By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)

NXT Vengeance Day Hits

Giulia vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Cora Jade in a four-way for the NXT Women’s Championship: They should have put a little distance between this match and the NXT Championship match due to the similarities, but the right match closed the show. The late addition of Jade to this match didn’t do a lot for me because I suspected she was added to take the loss. But she actually didn’t take the pin and they told a pretty good story with her and Perez working together to start and then turning on another as the match went on. It also made sense to have Perez take the loss given that she’s main roster bound. There was no reason to think Giulia would drop the title and yet all four women created some dramatic moments. Was the post match scene with Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, and Jordynne Grace a Triple Threat teaser for Stand & Deliver?

Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura for the NXT Tag Team Titles: I’m usually grumbling about matches getting too much time these days, but I actually would have enjoyed a few more minutes of the type of action that these teams provided. This was a fun sprint with crowd pleasing action. The post match attack by LeNexus (or whatever Dion Lennox’s crew is going to be called) was fine, but the live crowd chanting “who are you?” brought it down a notch. If nothing else, it’s good to know that Lennox will be doing more than reading books during forgettable backstage skits.

Oba Femi vs. Grayson Waller vs. Austin Theory in a Triple Threat for the NXT Championship: The story of Waller and Theory being frenemies made for a fun three-way dynamic. The highlight was Theory having Femi pinned after hitting A-Town Down only to have Waller pull the referee out of the ring. Waller mistakenly hitting his rolling stunner on Theory felt like a stretch, but perhaps Theory’s character will feel the same way. Ultimately, there was little mystery regarding the outcome, but it was an entertaining match and Femi looked dominant by beating two men.

Eddy Thorpe vs. Trick Williams in a strap match: It’s great to see Thorpe go from being completely lost as a babyface to drawing passionate “F— you, Eddy” chants as a heel. Thorpe going over surprised me, but I’m not complaining. I thought it would be as simple as Trick winning and then moving on to challenge Oba Femi for the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver. But Trick winning this match wouldn’t have done much for him because he was a heavy favorite in the eyes of most fans. Thorpe received a credibility boost by going over, so it will mean more if Trick wins a rematch, and there’s still plenty of time to set up the Oba vs. Trick match if that’s the plan for WrestleMania weekend.

Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans: The goal of this feud seems to be giving Evans more of an edge to go along with his likable happy-go-lucky charm. Mission accomplished. Evans came out of the gate showing the right level of intensity given the nature of the heated feud. Suffering a bloody nose couldn’t have been fun for Page, but the blood added to the gritty nature of the match. Page going over was the right call because Evans had the out of his storyline jaw injury, and it creates the need for a blowoff match, presumably at Stand & Deliver. They could even extend the feud beyond that point, but I’m hopeful that a call-up is in the works for Page coming out of WrestleMania weekend.

Fallon Henley vs. Stephanie Vaquer for the NXT Women’s North American Championship: A hot opening match with the expected title change. I continue to question why is Henley still in developmental. It’s hard to imagine Vaquer and Giulia having long stays in NXT, but I think it’s logical to give them both some time to get acclimated to life in a new country. Henley consistently produces in the ring and did a terrific job of making some campy NXT 2.0 skits work during her babyface run. Hopefully part of the reason she dropped the title is because she’s main roster bound and ideally as a babyface. The title change was hinted at on NXT television when Vaquer told Giulia that there would be only one thing left after she won the North American Championship. She didn’t finish her thought, but the way she looked at the NXT Women’s Championship before Jordynne Grace came out at the end of this show said it all.

NXT Vengeance Day Misses

None: Let’s get the negatives out of the way. The title match outcomes felt highly predictable, including the one that ended with a title change. I wasn’t a fan of the way the building looked. The idea of putting blue lights opposite the hard camera in a dark arena made the venue look like a small television studio. Fortunately, they turned on some regular lights after the opening match, presumably once more people arrived. Even so, I watched footage from the AEW Holiday Bash show that was held in the same building late last year and felt that the AEW show looked bigger, brighter, and better. But this was an enjoyable NXT premium live event from start to finish. Vengeance Day didn’t have the red hot matches that the brand had back in the Takeover days, but there wasn’t a bad match on the show. Here’s hoping the crew can top this strong showing at Stand & Deliver.