By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center
Aired live November 26, 2024 on The CW
[Hour One] Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer. After Vic introduced the show, highlights from last week’s NXT show aired. The highlights focused on the Andre Chase vs. Ridge Holland number one contenders match, ending with Ridge Holland winning and the Chase University trio being disbanded…
Chase U’s entrance theme played with the crowd popping hard for it. In a nice bait and switch, Ridge Holland busted through the Chase U flag to draw boos from the crowd because they felt dooped. Holland took the mic and said “I told you so” as he soaked in the boos from the crowd. He said he’ll be seeing Trick Williams at Deadline. Ridge dropped the mic to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: Simple and sweet heat generating segment. He didn’t have to do much other than continue to twist the knife in the hearts of the fans that love the Chase University trio. Again, I argue that Ridge Holland should be considered as one of the if not “the” most improved wrestler in WWE on the mic and in the ring. I’m curious as to where do they go from here. Can we consider Riley, Thea, and Duke as “Graduated” from Chase U (In which they can put on a heartfelt graduation ceremony). If so, will Chase recruit a few more developmental and indie wrestlers to be his new proteges? (In a weird way due to him being both talented and goofy, WWE ID signee Jack Cartwheel would fit perfectly in Chase U if Cartwheel wants to retain that goofy aspect of his indie character. Just a thought and fantasy booking).
Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in from the commentary table. Vic ran through the advertised card for this week’s NXT TV show…
Entrances for the Iron Survivor qualifyer took place…
1. “All Ego” Ethan Page vs. Axiom (w/Nathan Frazer) for a spot in the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Axiom started the match with a crucifix rollup. Page rolled to ringside to avoid the Golden Ration Superkick. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
Back from break, Axiom sent Page from the apron to the announce table with a huracanrana. Vic noted that Axiom competed in the inaugural Iron Survivor match. Page used a rollup and clasp to block a Juji Gatame. Page floored Axiom with a Mafia Kick. Booker noted that Page is a 17 year veteran. Random tag teams were shown via picture in picture watching the match on a monitor in the back.
Axiom caught Page with a knee and Standing Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Page kicked out of a pin, but Axiom went right into a Juji Gatame. Page broke the hold by deadlifting Axiom and power bombing him, which Booker noted was shades of Rampage Jackson. Page worked on the back of Axiom with strikes and holds. Page worked on Axiom with methodical offense for a stretch of the match, with the moves focusing on the back.
Axiom staggered Page on the top rope with a Gamengiri. Axiom hit Page with a Super Spanish Fly for a nearfall (Vic did the whole telegraph thing of saying some form of “we have a winner” when calling the pinfall). Page staggered Axiom on the top rope with a uppercut. Axiom recovered and worked on Page with joint manipulation. Page fought out of it and gave Axiom a backbreaker on the top buckle. The show cut to a 2nd commercial.[c]
Back from break, Axiom hit Page with his signature and sweet looking Lionsault DDT for a nearfall. Page powered out of Axiom’s forearms and hit him with a forearm. Axiom went into a Sleeper. Page broke it by slamming Axiom into the turnbuckle a few times. Axiom went for a Guillotine Choke, but Page suplexed Axiom into the turnbuckle.
Page dragged Axiom to the top in Ego’s Edge position, but Axiom countered it with a Frankensteiner. Page recovered and turned Axiom inside-out with a lariat for the pinfall victory.
Ethan Page defeated Axiom via pinfall in 16:45 to earn a spot in the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline.
Sponsored highlights aired from the match. In the ring, Sarah Schreiber interviewed Ethan Page. Page said if you bet against All Ego, you’re going to lose money every single time. He said he always finds a way to win. He said he found a way to win against a great champion. Page said nobody wants him to qualify. Nathan Frazer cut off Page and Page sent Sarah to the back.
Frazer said that the Iron Survivor match is his type of match. Page said that Frazer’s mouth is going faster than his body. Page talked about how he’s more impressed by the man who really carries Frazer’s tag team, Axiom. Wes Lee made his entrance to stake his claim to winning Iron Survivor. Je’von Evans made his entrance and talked about how hype the Iron Survivor match is looking. Evans mocked and joked that he’s going to spend a lot of time in the Penalty Box.
Bronco Nima and Lucien Price made their entrance. Price talked about how they don’t give a damn care about Iron Survivor. Nima called out Axiom and Frazer aand said they were not cool with Axiom and Frazer overlooking the tag division to go after singles gold. Eventually the other random tag teams ran out and a brawl ensued. Frazer and Axiom hit the mob with a flip dive to join the brawl..
Lola Vice spoke with Stephanie Vaquer in Spanglish backstage, noting that she had to make sure Jaida Parker didn’t advance to Iron Survivor. Wren Sinclair tried to get in words to Lola about their upcoming match, and Vice noted that she was going to use Wren to show Jaida Parker that these fist don’t lie. Vic then hyped the Vice vs. Sinclair match…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I believe this was the longest of the Iron Survivor qualifyers and it was an entertaining singles match. Cool to see Axiom back in a singles match after a long while and he still looks like his prime A-Kid self. Ethan Page is a pro, on the mic and in the ring. We forget that this guy was one-half of one of the best tag teams in the world in The North. These men really delivered with this two segment match. I had a feeling Page was going over because they don’t seem to do repeats in these Iron Survivor matches and Axiom had a shot before.
A graphic aired, showing that there is one final spot in the men’s Iron Survivor match. Backstage, Ashante the Adonis was chatting with Nikkita Lyons about last week. Adonis said that Lyons is trying to hop aboard, but he has baggage now. Lyons pointed out that Adonis did text her. Adonis said he texts all the shawtys. Karmen Petrovic heard this and ended up shoving Adonis for lying last week about not texting Lyons…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Lola Vice vs. Wren Sinclair (w/Charlie Dempsey). Lola worked on Wren with a moves from the Standing Switch. Lola then worked on Wren with an Alligator Roll. Wren escaped with a pin attempt. Lola countered a armdrag into a Juji Gatame. Wren reversed it with a bridge and rollup. Lola hit Wren with the Three Amigos, even doing the Eddie Guerrero shimmy. Wren came back with an arm wrench slam.
Wren focused her attack on the left wrist of Lola Vice for about a minute or two. Vice came back with Tae Kwon Do kicks. Sinclair ended the rally with a shortarm lariat and basement dropkick. Vice rolled to ringside for a moment of respite. Dempsey coached Wren to stomp on Lola’s arm into the steps. That distracted Lola enough for her to escape. Wren dropkicked Lola to send her head into the steel steps. In the ring, Lola hit Wren with a spinning backfist outta nowhere for the victory.
Lola Vice defeated Wren Sinclair via pinfall in 4:23.
Lola got in the camera and said that it’s not over between her and Jaida Parker. Lola said they were going to go “Underground” very soon…
Adriana Rizzo met up with Tony D’Angelo backstage. Rizzo wondered where Stacks and Luca were? Tony D said they are doing their own thing (randomly brawling with tag teams). Rizzo asked Tony D about his injured leg and he said it was fine. The camera then cut to Shawn Spears and Brooks Jensen also warming up…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough match. Wren, of course, looking more polished. Lola continues to spin her wheels as a directionless babyface who they only turned to give Roxanne Perez a challenger of the month. They are dragging out her feud with Jaida Parker. It’ll presumably end soon with NXT Underground as the end of it. Or at least I hope they move on.
Tatum Paxley was talking with her blond and orange haired and blonde dolls. Jacy Jayne and Jasmyn Nyx showed up to trash talk Tatum and throw her dolls on the ground. After Fatal Influence left, Tatum Paxley said that Jayne’s past will haunt her. After Tatum left, an unseen person picked up the orange haired doll (The “past” and orange hair most likely means it’s Gigi Dolin, who returned from her injury this past weekend during NXT’s weekend house shows)…
Shawn Spears and Brooks Jensen made their entrance with Spears wearing a skeleton mask and holding his signature chair. Tony D and Rizzo were out next. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…
3. Tony D’Angelo (w/Adriana Rizzo) vs. Shawn Spears (w/Brooks Jensen) in a Rounds Match for the NXT North American Championship. Tony D rallied early on with right hands. Tony D ran the ropes and started to limp, selling the chop block and match injury from last week. Spears then focused his attack on Tony D’s injured leg with Tony D playing defense. Spears stomped on Tony D’s injured leg heading into break.[c]
[Hour Two] Back from break, Spears was still working on Tony D’s injured leg. Tony D staggered Spears by pulling him into the ringpost for a moment of respite. Tony D hit Spears with a Superplex, continuing to sell the injured knee. A picture-in-picture showed the NXT tag team division brawling in the Performance Center parking lot. Tony D hit Spears with a Belly to Belly. Tony tried to run, but his injured knee gave out.
Spears put D’Angelo into a Figure Four. Spears worked in pin attempts when D’Angelo got his shoulders on the mat. Tony D fought and managed to crawl his way to the bottom rope for the rope break. Tony used his boot to dump Spears to ringside. D’Angelo hit Spears with a Spear for a two count. Tony D went for a Spinebuster, but Tony D’s leg’s gave out on him. Both men traded rollups. Tony D then hit Spears with a Spinebuster for the victory.
Tony D’Angelo defeated Shawn Spears via pinfall in 8:34 to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Jensen and Spears tried to jump Tony D, but he managed to fend both of them off. “Niko” came out of nowhere and floored Tony D with a clothesline. Spears, Jensen, and Niko then stood tall, glaring at Ariana Rizzo…
Separate shots of Giulia and Kelani Jordan were shown. The show then cut to the NXT tag team division still brawling in the parking lot, this time with random people getting thrown into cars. Robert Stone and Stevie Turner ran in to try to calm everyone down before the show cut to commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A solid match with Tony D doing a good job selling the injury from last week (which was obviously set up to make Spears look like he had a chance). Spears and Jensen look a bit weak, having a one-legged Tony D’Angelo easily able to beat and and win against them. This feud will continue with them trying to introduce “Niko” as a new character in NXT. The guy looks like yet another Football lineman, so I assume he’s a NIL developmental type. Curious to see how he fares on the main show as I haven’t been keeping up with Level Up for months.
Vic Joseph plugged this week’s College Football games on CW…
The show then cut to Andre Chase looking disheveled, as he was packing up his supplies and office stuff as he was leaving the University. Sad music played as Chase was looking sad and introspective. Chase left his office and shook his head looking at the Andre Chase namecard on the door. Someone off camera yelled “hey, Mr. Chase!” called out to Chase, causing Chase to turn around (I would get a happy smile if this was the long lost Bodhi Hayward, but there’s no way it’s him given he was released early on as a NIL developmental wrestler)…
Entrances for the Iron Survivor qualifyer match took place…
4. Giulia vs. Kelani Jordan for a spot in the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline. Giulia escaped Jordan’s wristholds early on. Jordan got a two count off a basement crossbody. Giulia locked in a hammerlock and side headlock takedown. Both women traded rapid fire rollups for nearfalls. Both women shared a handshake. Jordan turned it into an Irish Whip, but Giulia stood her ground and hit Jordan with a huracanrana.
Giulia put Jordan in a Rings of Saturn. Jordan broke the hold by punning Giulia’s shoulder’s to the mat. Giulia hit Jordan with a headbutt and huracanrana. Jordan came back with a stomp to the mat. Giulia went to the apron to avoid One of a Kind. Giulia dumped Jordan to ringside. Jordan dodged a double stomp. Both women hit each other with stereo right hands. Both women got in each others’ mugs heading into break.[c]
Back from break, Jordan caught Giulia at ringside with a Corkscrew Plancha. Jordan rallied with axe handle strikes. Both women brawled to the top rope. Giulia knocked Jordan off the top rope with a headbutt. Jordan sidestepped a Missile Dropkick. Giulia caught Jordan out of the One of a Kind Moonsault into a Triangle Choke. Jordan deadlifted Giulia and hit her with a Power Bomb for a good nearfall.
The picture-in-picture showed Roxanne Perez watching the match backstage. Giulia and Jordan traded fatigued strikes. Giulia hit Jordan with a Hammerlock Michinoku Driver. Jordan rolled up Giulia for a nearfall. Giulia hit Jordan with the Northern Lights Bomb for the victory.
Giulia defeated Kelani Jordan via pinfall in about 12:30 to earn a spot in the Iron Survivor Match at NXT Deadline.
Vic hyped up one spot remaining in the Women’s Iron Survivor match now…
The show cut to Ava chatting with the losers of the Iron Survivor qualifying matches. Eddy Thorpe said it wasn’t fair that he has to fight everyone because he had interference in his match. Lexis King was grateful for the opportunity. Ava told Axiom and Frazer that they will have to defend their titles at NXT deadline. Axiom said it wasn’t fair that he and Frazer will have to compete in Iron Survivor and defend their titles.
Frazer pointed out that Axiom still has to qualify. The random tag teams showed up to brawl again. Eddy Thorpe continued to argue to Ava and even grabbing her wrist. Ava told Eddy not to touch her. A random tag team guy (might have been Hank) stumbled into a open door and slammed it into Ava to send her to the floor…[c]
John’s Thoughts: There was no question as to the outcome, especially with Giulia, Vaquer, and Zaria all looking past their qualifying matches and already acting like they were in Iron Survivor via their promos. Jordan looked credible here and continues to show that she is a natural and can hang in there with the best. Her hasty acting recently has me thinking she might be in line for a heel turn. Giulia has an amazing look, presence, and charisma. I feel like she’s still adjusting to the WWE style as she hasn’t had the standout in-ring moments like we’ve seen from her in Japan (meanwhile Vaquer and Zaria are more naturals for the WWE style). She’ll get there though, because it’s harder to get the
Vic Joseph plugged the CM Punk behind the scenes YouTube video…
Shawn Michaels and a medic were checking on Ava, who was still recovering on the ground. Ava noted that she thinks Eddy Thorpe was the reason she was knocked down. Eddy showed up to check on Ava. HBK shoved Thorpe a few times and slammed him against a garage door, yelling at him not to touch Ava. Thrope left…
NXT Champion Trick Williams made his entrance. Trick said that the medics are checking on Ava, and he’s sure she’ll be fine because we all know who her “bloodline” is. Trick then said what was really sad was seeing Chase U end. Trick said he saw people in the crowd crying and he was shocked too. He said he then saw Ridge Holland smiling, looking proud at what he did. Trick said he grew up in this business with dawgs who love NXT, like DIY, Bron Breakker, Tiffany Stratton, and Ilja Dragunov. He then got serious and said even people like Carmelo Hayes.
Trick said even Chase U helped NXT get to where it is today. Trick said all Ridge knows what to do is destroy things. Trick said he can’t let Ridge become champion because if Ridge becomes champion, everything they all did to build the Silver and Gold brand will die. Ridge Holland made his entrance and noted that controversy always follows him. Former president of WCW Eric Bischoff showed up on the big screen.
Bischoff said he wants to get a closer look at things and is showing up to NXT next week. He said he wants to find out how bad Ridge wants it, how Trick and Ridge tick. He said after he’s done with them next week, Trick and Ridge will want to destroy each other. Ridge and Trick jawed at a distance to end the segment…
Separate shots of Tatum Paxley and Fatal Influence were shown…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A bit of a roundabout way to get there, but a nice surprise appearance by Eric Bischoff to plug him appearing on NXT next week. NXT is feeling a bit more than just developmental recently with all these outside guests coming out of the woodwork. Curious to see if hyping Easy E will lead to a ratings boost. Backstage, they also ended up having HBK get physical with Eddy Thorpe. They’ve teased HBK getting back in the ring multiple times only to have him name a surrogate, but it’s always interesting when Heartbreak decides to get back in active storylines.
An ad aired for Survivor Series…
Wren Sinclair apologized to Charlie Dempsey about her recent loss. Tavion Heights and Myles Borne showed up selling their brawl injuries. They said they were going to be in the Tag Team Battle Royal match next week. Dempsey informed Wren that she’s in the last chance match for the Iron Survivor match. Wren protested, saying she can’t beat four other women. Dempsey, Heights, and Borne all gave Sinclair encouragement…
Vic pluggged the Last Chance matches and the tag team battle royal. Vic also noted that Eric Bischoff and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman will appear next week. Vic joked that Booker was in the NWO with Waltman once. Booker said that he was only in the group for one week because Shawn Michaels superkicked him out of the group…
Entrances for the North American title match took place. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
5. Fallon Henley (w/Jacy Jayne, Jasmyn Nyx) vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. Henley dominated the chain wrestling early on. When Henley did a cowgirl pose, Paxley got a two count off a rollup. Paxley kept Henley in a armbar. Henley got a two count off a Jackknife Pin. Paxley used a kick to dump Henley to ringside. Jayne got in Paxley’s face and called her a freak. Henley used the ringpost to hit Paxley with a Tiger Feint Kick heading into break.[c]
Both women traded right hands, with Henley having the upper hand. Henley got a two count off a basement lariat. Paxley fought out of a headlock. Both women took each other out to give Tatum a moment of respite. Both women traded fatigued kicks and punches. Tatum rallied with right hands and an enzuigiri. Paxley sent Henley into the corner with a crossbody. Paxley hit Henley with a Helicopter Burning Hammer for a nearfall.
Henley recovered and Paxley flipped out of the corner. Henley hit Paxley with an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Paxley countered a Blockbuster and hit Henley with a 450 for a good nearfall. Henley escaped a Lightning Spiral attempt and rolled up Paxley. Paxley hit Jayne with a wrecking ball dropkick. Henley held on the ropes to block Paxley’s finisher. Henley hit Paxley with a FameAsser for the victory.
Fallon Henley defeated Tatum Paxley via pinfall to retain the NXT Women’s North American Championship.
Fatal Influence jumpped Paxley after the match. Gigi Dolin’s theme played to catch the attention of the heel trio. Vic asked “is she here?”. As the heels looked at the ramp, Gigi blindsided and took down Jayne and Henley with Nyx retreating to ringside. Paxley and Dolin cleared the heels from the ring. The crowd gave Gigi a “welcome back” chant. The show closed with Paul Levesque, Shawn Michaels, and Lee Fitting being credited as Executive Producers…
John’s Thoughts: A solid qualifyer match. Henley is always good in the ring and should be on the main roster given how well rounded and main roster ready she is. Tatum was thrown onto TV out out the get go and she is showing the fruits of her on-the-job training. She’s great, especially in working closing segments of a match. The crowd is still behind her despite her losing a majority of her matches.
Was that a main event level match? Eh, not really in my opinion. The true in-ring main event level match was the opener. I would have found a way to have that close the show, but I also understand that they had to tie things together with their messy Tag Team Title build. (and it is indeed messy with it consisting of random and homogeneous brawls). A solid, but not must-see episode of NXT. If anything, if you are strapped for time, I’d just recommend checking out the opening match, maybe throw in the Giulia vs. Kelani Jordan match too for a solid bout. The rest of the show was a bridge to the Iron Survivor, Eric Bischoff appearing via satellite, and teases of a mystery person confronting Andre Chase as he was leaving his office.
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