Powell’s NXT Hit List: Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women’s Title, Lexis King vs. Je’Von Evans for the NXT Heritage Cup, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Fallon Henley for the NXT Women’s NA Title

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

NXT Hits

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Fallon Henley for the NXT Women’s North American Championship: The beating that Fatal Influence gave Vaquer after the opening match made the outcome of this match feel a little less predictable. It felt like it was at least possible that the attack and perhaps outside interference would give Vaquer outs for dropping the secondary title. Rather, they took the more likely approach by giving Vaquer a good win in the main event of a show that was built around her. The post match angle with Jorydnne Grace holding the NXT Women’s Championship for a few seconds before letting Vaquer take it was solid. I just hope they weren’t foreshadowing a Triple Threat for Stand & Deliver when they showed Jaida Parker watching from ringside. I’m high on Parker’s upside, but the money match is Vaquer vs. Grace.

Lexis King vs. Je’Von Evans for the NXT Heritage Cup: A solid match. Oba Femi costing Evans the bout by powerbombing him on the apron while the referee distracted himself didn’t really bother me. The Heritage Cup is a joke and it would have been a shame had it been the first title that Evans won in NXT. The post match angle with Darkstate coming out while Trick Williams went after Oba was interesting, as it continues to look like Trick is behind the new faction. Of course, it could also be a red herring, but it’s making for interesting television either way. Trick hitting Evans with a knee strike that was intended for Oba left me concerned that they will go with another Triple Threat as opposed to the singles showdown match between Oba and Trick at Stand & Deliver. Blame the current creative approach to WrestleMania 41 for my paranoia when it comes to Triple Threats.

Ethan Page vs. Andre Chase: An enjoyable match between two well seasoned pros. Chase continues to get over regardless of the situation. The guy was booked as a pathetic gambling addict who lost his phony school and the fans stayed with him. Meanwhile, I continue to hope that there’s a good spot on the main roster waiting for Page post WrestleMania.

Tony D’Angelo and Stacks: NXT has teased the possibility of Stacks turning on Tony D several times without actually following through on it. Will this time be any different? The tease occurring this close to Stand & Deliver makes me think it’s possible because their first match against one another should be on a major show. But they also seem to be setting up Tony D’s Family vs. Darkstate, so it’s possible that this is just another tease that will end with Stacks staying true to D’Angelo. Either way, the segment was compelling and left me curious to see where they go from here.

NXT Misses

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jaida Parker for the NXT Women’s Championship: The match wasn’t bad, it just fell below my admittedly high expectations. I didn’t expect to see some of the clunky execution that occurred, and I thought the match would be more dynamic despite the fact that the outcome felt highly predictable. The Jordynne Grace distraction at the end made for a lousy finish even though they had the good intention of trying to protect Parker in defeat.

Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger: The creative team knew they were opening the show with a distraction finish for the first title match and outside interference to end a title match in the third slot. So was it really too much to ask that they just have Dupont and Igwe go over clean to avoid having three shit finishes in a row? Protecting impressive young challengers in the title matches is more understandable than going above and beyond to avoid having Hank and Tank take a clean loss. Don’t get me wrong, I like those guys as an undercard team, but taking a clean loss wouldn’t have hurt them. In fact, it would have played nicely into the pep talks that Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin gave them.

Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley vs. Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson: Dolin and Paxley got the expected win into their Knockouts Tag Team Title match on Thursday’s TNA Impact. I’m just surprised that it came at the expense of Legend and Jackson, though they can always get their win back. The bigger problem is that Dolin and Paxley feel ice cold. Dolin has struggled ever since the Toxic Attraction faction concluded. Paxley is trying to make the best out of a terrible gimmick. What will it take for creative to throw in the towel and give the talented Paxley a reboot?