By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Live from Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired January 16, 2024 on USA Network
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Entrances for the opening Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Match took place. Booker T was annoyed because Carmelo Hayes’s theme got mashed up with Trick Williams’s theme…
1. Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes vs. Edris Enofe and Malik blade in a first round match of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic. Enofe and Blade wore Dusty Rhodes inspired polka dot ring gear. Melo and Blade started the match with quick evasive maneuvers, ending in a stalemate stereo dropkick. Enofe tagged in and took down Melo with Blade via a double chop. Enofe threw his shirt like a basketball to mock Melo, which allowed Melo to take control and tag in Trick. Trick took down Enofe with a dropkick and a few body slams.
Trick took down Blade with a jumping lariat. Melo tagged in and missed a dive. Blade rallied with running axe handles on Melo. Blade knocked Trick off the apron. Enofe tagged in and hit Melo with a dropkick. Trick tagged in and took a few armdrags from Enofe. Trick came back with a European Uppercut and Stinger Splash. Melo tagged in and gave Enofe a Stinger Splash.
Trick tossed Melo onto Enofe to give Melo a nearfall. Enofe fended off Trick and Melo with strikes and tagged in Blade. Enofe hit Trick with a Tiger Feint Kick. Blade hit Trick with a slingshot senton. Trick came back with a facebuster. Enofe and Blade swarmed Trick with strikes. Enofe and Blade hit Melo with a double flapjack. Blade (almost botched due to Trick being out of position) hit Trick with a flip dive. Enofe hit Melo with a flip dive heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from break, Blade hit Melo with a backbreaker for a two count. Enofe tagged in. Enofe and Blade cut the ring in half on Melo with tags and methodical offense. Melo fliped out of a back suplex to tag in Trick. Trick hit Enofe with a few Crescent side kicks. Trick took down Enofe and Blade with a double flapjack. Trick hit Enofe with a Book End for a nearfall, broken up by Blade.
Melo gave Blade a chop. Blade hit Melo with a nice Spanish Fly into a Destroyer lookin’ move. Trick dumped Blade to ringside. Enofe took down Trick and hit Trick with at top rope elbow drop for a nearfall. Hayes hit Enofe with a springboard dive. Blade gave melo a body slam and Frog Splash. Trick broke up the pin. Trick punched Enofe midair at ringside. Melo caught Blade with a Codebreaker. Trick hit Enofe with a Running Flash Knee strike for the victory.
Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes defeated Edris Enofe and Malik Blade via pinfall in 12:08.
An updated bracket graphic aired…
John’s Thoughts: Fun tag team actions between two athletic teams. There were a few flubs, but that’s due to both teams being a bit ambitious with some spots, no huge problem. I’m surprised we never really got a tag team run out of Trick and Melo before they got put at odds against each other because both of them have good tag team chemistry. I’m interested to see how they utilize the Dusty Classic tournament to further the Trick-Melo breakup storyline. On the other side, I hope Enofe and Blade get their push one of these days because they are a smooth tag team with a good athletic look.
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Fallon Henley about being in the 20 woman Battle Royal to become number one contender. Henley said it was fun ordering around Tiffany last week. She said she never received a shot at the Women’s title. She said now is the time to show everyone that she’s the top shelf of the women’s division. Henley said she has three words for the rest of the women in the division, “Yee haw, bitch!”…
A video package aired, spotlighting the events that led up to Oba Femi cashing in his not-money-in-the-bank Breakout Contract to become the new NXT North American Champion…
Oba Femi was shown walking around backstage, heading to the ring…[c]
Footage from “earlier today” as shown of Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez chatting backstage. They talked about both going after the women’s title. Tatum Paxley appeared behind a glass window on a door. She talked about how Elektra and Lola won’t win the tag team match later in the show. Tatum said she’s going to win the battle royal to protect Lyra from losing her title…
NXT North American Champion Oba Femi made his entrance. Vic Joseph noted that Oba Femi was the first champion in WWE to come from the NIL program, noting that Oba had no prior pro wrestling experience before joining the Performance Center. Oba said he knows people are surprised to see him as North American Champion. He said the prophesy was long foretold that there will be a juggernaut drenched in gold. Oba said when he was born it was already said he was going to be the biggest, strongest, and above everyone else.
He said he’s the embodiment of a “war leader”. Oba said he was tested as a young Nigerian Prince and he destroyed his opposition. He said he was tested in the NCAA. Oba said as a Division I athelete he made that world his own by winning title after title, championship after championship, and now that he’s in NXT the goal is still the same. He talked about dropping 3 men in the Breakout Tournament and dropped Dragon Lee last week. He said with the title he had the devine right to rule over all of you. He said he will crush to dust anyone that gets in his way.
Dragon Lee made his entrance. Dragon said he can’t be mad after what happened last week because Oba was hungry and took the moment. Dragon said he never saw anyone make as quick an impact as Oba. Dragon said the title gives him opportunity. Dragon said he hopes that Oba can give to others what Dragon gave to him, what Wes Lee gave to Dragon. Dragon asked Oba to continue the tradition of the North American Open Challenge. Dragon asked if he can be the first person to accept that open challenge. Oba said “no!”.
Oba said the Open Challenges are now closed. Dragon then brought up that he deserves a championship at Vengeance Day. Oba said Dragon doesn’t call the shots anymore and he’ll consider Dragon’s request…
John’s Thoughts: Strong first promo from Oba Femi. We see a lot of wrestlers, even in ring veterans, struggle when it comes to mic time. Oba was confident, didn’t tumble on his lines, and looked good on the mic. No joke, the dude’s only 22 years old, but he has future WWE World Champion written all over him.
The show cut to Eddy Thorpe hanging out with developmental wrestlers in the locker room, who praised him on his NXT Underground victory. Eddy talked bout being hyped defending his heritage. Trey Bearhill thanked Eddy Thrope for defending both of their Native American culture. Dijak walked in and made a pow wow joke. Trey Bearhill got in Dijak’s face. Dijak said that their culture taught them not to quit. He said he put Eddy on the shelf once and Trey might be next…
Lyra Valkyria made her entrance. Tatum Paxley snuck in from the crowd and came out in matching ring gear to Lyra Valkyria…
John’s Thoughts: I’m happy for Tatum. She was stuck in that dead end Diamond Mine story for a year, looking very generic. Now she’s a fully flushed out character and looking really good after her transformation. I love seeing wrestlers turn it around completely, and find success. The secret with this one seems to be her coming out of her shell a bit.
Trick and Melo were celebrating their win backstage. Melo brought up how they’ll make it to Vengeance Day to the Dusty Rhodes Classic finals. Ilja Dragunov cut in and said he was mad that NXT medical wouldn’t clear him, but he’s cleared now. Ilja said Trick deserves a title match on the big stage. Ilja offered Trick a title match at Vengeance Day. Trick accepted and was super hyped. Melo didn’t like it because he wants Trick all to himself in the Dusty Classic finals…
Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez made their entrance…
2. NXT Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley vs. Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez. Lyra fliped out of a corner and rolled up Elektra for a two count. Elektra stopped on a dime to avoid a crescent kick. Lyra caught Elektra with a Wrecking Ball dropkick. Tatum caught Lola with a mirror dropkick. Tatum tagged in and did a backflip to avoid a armdrag. Elektra sent Tatum throat first into the top rope. Lola tagged in and caught Tatum with an Axe Kick for a nearfall.
Elektra and Lola used tags to cut the ring in half on Tatum. Tatum reversed Lola’s roundhouse into a Murphy’s Law. Lyra and Elektra tagged in. Lyra rallied with clotheslines and an enzuigiri. Lyra hit Elektra with a Northern Lights for a two count. Tatum tagged in and caught Elektra with a crossbody. Vice broke up the pin. Lola knocked out Tatum with a hook kick, but she fell on Elektra for the pinfall win.
Tatum Paxley and Lyra Valkyria defeated Elektra Lopez and Lola Vice via pinfall in 4:03.
John’s Thoughts: Not much in terms of technical stuff, but the Lyra-Tatum dynamic continues to be a lotta fun. Tatum is making this work with her obsessed stan character. I hope this lasts for a while because this might be the program that finally draws out some character from Lyra. Tatum meanwhile is evolving to a really good pro wrestler with this gimmick.
A bunch of women were warming up in the locker room. Ariana Grace stood in the middle to give a beauty queen speech about winning the battle royal. She bragged about beating Roxanne Perez last week (via reverse decision). While Ariana was giving her speech, the locker room cleared…
Ridge Holland made his entrance to his old NXT entrance theme…[c]
Gallus made their entrance…
3. Ridge Holland vs. Joe Coffey (w/Mark Coffey, Wolfgang). Ridge and Joe started the match with a Collar and Elbow lockup. BOth men then traded strong style strikes. Joe hit Ridge with a headbutt. Ridge came back wiht a Belly to Belly. Ridge then backdropped Joe. Ridge knocked Wolfgang off the apron. This allowed Joe to work on Ridge in the corner. Joe gave Ridge a backbreaker and Vader Bomb elbow drop for a two count. Ridge gave Joe a hip tossand shortarm headbutt.
Ridge flapjacked Joe on the top rope and took him down with a lariat. Ridge hit Joe wiht a Sitout Body Slam for the clean victory.
Ridge Holland defeated Joe Coffey via pinfall in 2:27.
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang put the boots to Ridge after the match. The camera focused on the stage for some reason. Joe joined in on the boots. Joe yelled that no one was coming to help Ridge. Joe hit Ridge with a discus lariat. Gallus stood tall to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Wow. They just gonna job Joe Coffey like that? I’m still confused as to the stop and start stuff they do with Joe because Joe is such a good wrestler and the most charismatic of the Gallus trio. I’m intrigued by the Ridge return to NXT, especially after that good promo from a few weeks ago. He was okay here in the ring, and has been improving while on the main roster. The finish came out of nowhere though because the sitout body slam didn’t look devastating.
The NXT Anonymous caught Jacy Jayne and Thea Hail with a bunch of random women. They were discussing whatever they were going to do to raise Chase U funds. Jacy thanked someone named “Jasmine” in particular. Jacy asked Jasmine for her number so they can hang out for drinks…
Kelani Jordan was psyching herself up backstage in the looker room. A random developmental woman showed up and was fangirling over Kelani…
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker about advancing in the dusty classic. Corbin claimed to be the leader. Bron and Baron then bickered over who won their match last week. Breakker called their team “The Wolf Dogs”. Corbin didn’t like the name, and said it must have taken Bron weeks to come up with that name.
Bron talked about coming up with the name while taking a shower. Corbin was disgusted that Bron was thinking of him while showering. Corbin said he was vetoing “The Wolf Dogs” and thoughts of Baron Corbin in the shower. Kelly Kincaid said they both look like A-Holes. Baron said one thing they arent are the Wolf Dogs. Bron wondered if they can be called the Wild Boars?…
[Hour Two] Entrances for the next match took place…
4. “Chase University” Riley Osborne and Duke Hudson (w/Andre Chase) vs. “The LWO” Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro (w/Zelina Vega) in a first round match of the Dusty Rhodes tag team classic. Del Toro and Osborne started the match with quick rollups. Cruz put Riley in a deep armdrag and tagged in Wilde. Cruz tossed Wilde into Riley for a two count. Hudson tagged in and gave Wilde a sidewalk slam for a two count. Osborne caught both opponents at ringside with a flip dive heading into commercial.[c]
Back from break, Osborne made his comeback by hitting both opponents with a cannonball. Hudson tagged in for the hot tag. Hudson took down Wilde with a big boot and took down Cruz with the Chase U Bionic Elbow. Cruze rallied with a enzuigiri combination. Cruz caught Duke with a Poisonrana. Hudson came back with a corner Uranage for a nearfall. Del Toro came back with a boot. Duke hit Cruz with a Bossman Slam, but couldn’t pick up the pin due to Wilde being the legal man off a blind tag.
Wiilde caught Hudson with a thrust kick and caught Riley with a flip dive. Wilde hit Hudson with a suicide dive DDT. Cruz tagged in and hit Hudson with a 450 Phoenix Splash for the victory.
The LWO defeated Chase University via pinfall to advance to the semi-finals of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
An updated Dusty Classic bracket graphic aired. The camera panned to a disappointed Chase U. Chase said that Jacy’s their only hope…
John’s Thoughts: I didn’t know who would win this because LWO are the main roster team and Chase U are a featured act on NXT. I’m glad the LWO got to win and look good for the 2nd week in a row. Wilde and Del Toro are really putting a lot of good work in now that they’re given a chance to shine. I hope their recent good showings means that when they move back to the main roster, they aren’t treated as Rey Mystero’s cannon fodder shields. I also wouldn’t mind Andrade Almas joining the stable to realign him and Zelina together.
Adriana Rizzo was looking nervous backstage because her first match was going to be the number one contender’s battle royal. Tony D and Stacks gave her a pep talk. Tony D and Stacks got a little nervous when Adriana talked about throwing bodies off a bridge…
Vic Joseph, Booker T, and Joe Gacy checked in from the commentary table. Vic and Booker were confused as to why Joe was there and wearing a sport coat…
Dijak made his entrance…[c]
Footage from last week was shown of Von Wagner and Robert Stone chatting in the locker room. Noam Dar and Oro Mensah showed up in the locker room. Von asked Noam what the trophy was. Noam said it was the Heritage Cup. Von said “I have a cup too” as he put a nut cup in the heritage cup. Oro threw the nut cup away.
Von asked for a Heritage Cup title shot. Noam had a hard time explaining the Heritage Cup rules to Von, because Von didn’t understand that you have to get two pinfalls. After Noam left, Von told Stone he got an A in Algebra and will get gold in 2024…
Trey Bearhill made his entrance. The commentary team were still confused as to why Joe Gacy was at the table…
5. Dijak vs. Trey Bearhill. Trey put Dijak in a side headlock. Trey grounded Dijak with a backdrop. Bearhill ran through Dijak with a shoulder tackle. Trey hit Dijak with ten punches in the corner. Dijak tripped up Trey and hit him with a superkick. Joe Gacy yelled “what a maneuver!”. Dijak hit Trey with the Time to Fly suplex for a two count. Dijak worked on Trey with methodical offense. Trey reversed a suplex into a Buckle Suplex on Dijak.
Gacy said “that must not feel good”. Dijak staggered Trey with a elbow and dumped Trey to ringside with a clothesline. Dijak tossed Trey into the timekeeper barricade. Dijak told Gacy to go to hell. Gacy gave Dijak a right hand. Trey tossed Dijak back in the ring and gave Dijak overhead slaps. Bearhill scratched Dijak in the back and hit him with a running crossbody for a nearfall. Dijak came back with a cyclone boot for the victory.
Dijak defeated Trey Bearhill via pinfall in 4:36.
Joe Gacy jumped Dijak after the match. Dijak and Gacy brawled to the back. Back in the ring, Lexis King gave Trey Bearhill a knee to the back of the neck. Lexis hit Trey with a Reverse Blade Runner. Lexis yelled at Trey that Trey cost him the biggest match of his career. Lexis king posed over the prone body of Trey to end the segment…
John Bradshaw Layfield met up with Josh Briggs backstage, who was watching past match footage to find holes in his game. Josh asked JBL for some advice. JBL said he picked Josh to qualify for the Iron Survivor to find himself, to find out “who is Josh Briggs”. Bradshaw talked about how he had to find himself by dropping the beer and playing cards. Bradshaw said Josh’s journey will be different and he’ll have to show NXT who he is…
Kiana James and Izzy Dame made their entrance…[c]
A vignette aired for the No Quarter Catch Crew. Drew Gulak talked about how they all have to go through conditioning exercises. Damon Kemp talked about how they must break the will of another man before breaking their body. Miles Borne said pain is the feeling of weakness leaving the body. Charlie Dempsey talked about taking on all comers. They ended the segment by doing their pose…
Trick Williams apologized to Carmelo Hayes backstage for accepting Ilja’s challenge. Melo said he understands that Trick wants the title shot. Trick talked about how he’s totally happy to wrestle two matches at Vengeance Day. Melo asked Trick if he was sure? Trick said he was. Melo said now they have to focus on winning the Dusty Classic. Trick said he wants Melo to become a Triple Crown Champion. Trick said he’s super hyped to be both NXT Champion and Tag Team Champion at the same time. This caused Melo to raise an eyebrow…
Lyra Valkyria vs. the number one contender and Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin vs. Nathan Frazer and Axiom were announced for next week.
Vic Joseph announced that Cora Jade got an injury at a NXT live even this past weekend and will be out of action for close to a year. Vic noted that developmental wrestler Wren Sinclair beat Jade in a match at the live event and is replacing her in the battle royal….
Most of the women were already in the ring. Thea Hail and Blair Davenport got televised entrances…
6. Women’s Number One Contender Battle Royal. The usual walking and punching ensued. Jaida Parker and Adriana Rizzo brawled to ringside, but didn’t go over the top rope. Gigi Dolin eliminated Jakara Jackson with a headbutt. Lash Legend put Jaida and Adriana on thea pron. Lash used a shoulder tackle to eliminate Adriana. Izzi Dame ran into Jaida to eliminate her.
Dame and Lash caught Kelani Jordan. Jordan skinned the cat after she was tossed. Kelani was pushed off, but on top of the announce table so she wasn’t eliminated.[c]
Back from break, a replay aired of Kelani tightroping the barricade to avoid elimiation by jumping to the steel steps. Fallon Henley also eliminated Stevie Turner. Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez eliminated that random overeager woman from earlier. Lola Vice betrayed Elektra and eliminated her. Tatum Paxley eliminated Lola Vice. Lola and Elektra brawled to the back. Gigi Dolin put Davenport on the apron. Davenport pulled down the top rope to cause Gigi to eliminate herself.
Davemport dragged Thea Hail to the apron. Karmen Petrovic eliminated Davenport with a Scorpion Kick. Davenport dragged Karmen to ringside and gave her a Kamigoye before putting her back in the ring. Lash used Paxley as a battering ram to hit a few women. Paxley snapped her legs to escape a power bomb from Lash. Lash ran at Paxley to eliminate her.
Ariana Grace went for eliminations, but as shoved away by various wrestlers. Grace then found the KO’d Petrovic. Grace eliminated Petrovic like a sack of potatoes. Thea Hail eliminated Grace while Grace was celebrating her elimination. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Hail was dominating back from break. Hail gave Lash a DDT. Hail then gave Roxanne Perez a Blockbuster. Hail gave Wren Sinclair a Liger Roll and Senton. Hail did the same to Perez. Hail gave Kiana James an Exploder Suplex and Liger Kick. Izzi Dame caught Hail and dumped her to ringside to eliminate her. Henley put James on the apron. Joseph noted both women were former tag champions.
[Overrun] Dame saved James from elimination. Dame and Legend took each other out with clotheslines. Joseph noted that Dame and Legend are the two powerhouses. Perez and Henley used a clothesline to eliminate Dame. Legend put Perez on the apron. Perez skinned the cat. Wren Sinclair eliminated Lash. Sinclair put Kiana on the apron. Kiana quickly ran back in and tossed Sinclair into the buckle. Sinclair went to the top rope, but was tripped and eliminated by Kiana.
Kiana James vs. Fallon Henley vs. Roxanne Perez vs. Kelani Jordan to earn a title shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. Perez hit Henley with a suicide dive at ringside. Jordan caught Dame and James with a Asai Moonsault. Jordan used a jackknife pin to get a two count on Perez. Perez went for a La Magistral but Jordan reversed it for a two count. Perez hit Jordan with a wheelbarrow slam. Henley broke up Perez’s pin. Henley caught Jordan with a cannonball. James broke up Henley’s pin.
James hit Jordan and Perez with tackles in the corner. James shit Henley with a spinebuster. Jordan and Perez broke up Kiana’s pin. Jordan caught Perez with a Shotgun Dropkick. James hit Jordan with the 401(k). James blocked Pop Rocks from Perez. James blocked a power bomb from Perez. Henley was kicked off the apron. Perez and James brawled ot the top rope.
Perez hit James with a Frankensteiner. Jordan hit James with a Frog Splash. Perez broke up Jordan’s pin with a dropkick. Henley gave James a Shining Wizard. Jordan went for a split legged moonsault on James, but Dame pulled her away. Perez caught Jordan with Pop Rocks for the victory.
Roxanne Perez defeated Kelani Jordan, Fallon Henley, and Kiana James via pinfall in 22:41 of total match time to become number one contender to the NXT Women’s Championship.
Lyra Valkyria made her entrance to confront Perez. Vic Joseph hyped up a contract signing for next week’s NXT to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: These battle royals are hit and miss. They can either just be a bunch of walking and punching, or they can actually try to tell some stories. This was one of those telling story matches as they gave the women time and it was on the better side of weekly television battle royals. They gave the women two segments here and it worked out. Perez winning means we’re in for one hell of a match at NXT’s next PLE, since they’re going with their best in-ring worker. Curious to see if they turn Perez heel by that time since they’ve been teasing Perez developing a bit of an edge.
Better edition of NXT this week compared to last, in my opinion. There was better in-ring quality this week and more character development in between in-ring segments. We also got stronger Dusty Classic matches this week too. Hopefully after the Women’s Dusty Classic (the next tournament) is over, NXT pulls back on doing Tournaments because they are starting to burn out on tournaments coming fresh off the two Breakout Tournaments.
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