NXT’s biggest event of the year on WrestleMania weekend.
The Wolfdogs (Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin) (c) vs. Axiom and Nathan Frazer for the NXT Tag Team Championships
Really terrific opener. These two teams are just CLICKING right now and the NXT tag division hasn’t been this hot since maybe Revival v DIY. Wolfdogs, and Breakker in particular, feel like this unstoppable unit but Axiom/Frazer’s whole deal is they not sitting back – they’re taking their shot. So they take the fight to the Wolfdogs straight from the start and it’s just 15 minutes of non-stop action from there. There’s loads of terrific offense in this and the babyfaces really shined with the flying. You can’t go wrong with speed v power and that’s what we got. Special shout-out to Frazer who is shining in his pushed role. The challengers threw everything at the Wolfdogs and had a counter for most things, but Breakker’s spear is too powerful and the Wolfdogs retain. Good stuff. ****
Oba Femi (c) vs. Dijak vs. Josh Briggs for the NXT North American Championship
BEEEEF. Dijak/Briggs try to take out Oba immediately as he’s the threat but the partnership didn’t last very long. Briggs hitting a chokeslam on Dijak from the top rope to the outside onto Oba sat on the announcers’ chair was SICK. There was a lovely layer of story woven throughout here as every time Oba was involved, Dijak & Briggs went after him but were prepared to fight each other if the champion was down. There was a great minute or so where everyone just exchanged strikes and it rocked. Everybody hit hard and it suited guys like Briggs and Oba who aren’t as talented/experienced as Dijak. Briggs got hit with a walking chokeslam and KICKED OUT AT 1 TO RISE HIMSELF UP making this whole match feel very strong style Japanese style in the best way. A tower of doom spot with these three mountains is crazy but the crowd loved it. Dijak got very close to beating Oba with two finishers, but Briggs pulled the referee out which the crowd hated. That was the closest we’ve seen Oba to losing, but the chance was gone. Briggs managed to take him out with a spear through the barricade but Oba got up WAY quicker than anyone does from that bump to break up a pin and powerbomb Dijak for the three. Really great hoss fight and a way better match than Briggs/Oba should be capable of. Credit to all three but in particular, Dijak who held it together so well. ****1/4
Fallon Henley, Kelani Jordan and Thea Hail vs. Jacy Jayne, Kiana James and Izzi Dame
Jacy’s back in her heel role after turning on Thea Hail recently so that’s the backbone story of this. This was a solid six-person tag that got 12 mins or so. For the first half of this, the faces got nothing going for them and the heels looked like a solid unit with good control segments. James/Jacy were the stand-outs with good strikes/offense. Eventually, it broke down for some more exciting action . Fallon v James was good again, Kelani got to shine and Izzi didn’t let it down which is good. It was all leading to Jayne v Hail and the crowd popped for the showdown. Thea’s great at the character stuff but some of her in-ring work needs improving if she’s going to be a major player in the division. Her strikes are too loose and her spots are sometimes too telegraphed. In the end, she caught Izzi with the Kimura to win. **3/4
Ava reveals there’s going to be an NXT Women’s North American championship. WOAH!
Guilia is here and has signed with WWE. She. Is. NXT.
Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship
Perez has fully accepted her heel ways now and attacked Lyra’s arm last week on NXT to give her a body part to target. The backstory is in Roxanne’s view, Lyra wouldn’t be champion if the world was stopping Perez while Lyra wants to defend her reputation as a worthy champion. They started even but eventually, Roxanne took control with work on the arm and her brutality on it was good. Incorporating stuff like a hammerlock was a nice way to continue the technical style while also focusing on the body part. Lyra eventually fought back through gritted teeth and Roxanne manages to nail Pop Rox but Lyra kicks out. This enrages Perez who destroys Lyra’s arm in the ringpost. Perez nearly gets DQ’d and Tatum Paxley turns up but gets in Lyra’s way. The finishing run here is decent. Perez keeps going to the crossface on the injured arm but Lyra had an escape a few times. Lyra was always fighting from a desperate place though and Perez nailed Pop Rox before locking in the crossface to win back the title. Really good match that was way more techncial than the story suggested, but it works in a way that Roxanne wanted to prove she’s better and she did (even if the heel attack a few days ago had a major say). Fun stuff. ***3/4
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Tony D’Angelo for the NXT Championship
Really good high-intensity battle as usual for Ilja. Tony’s not the best opponent out there but he did well as someone who’s convincing as a brawler. They also gave Ilja a hand injury to sell which helps even it out. Ilja sold that bitch like he’s legit losing his hand. There was a stunning struggle to this with Tony looking to down Ilja with slams and suplexes, but Ilja’s intensity and strikes always stunned Tony. It felt like Tony did his absolute best and had a strategy to try and keep Ilja down, but nobody can. Ilja wins with the Torpedo Moscow and H-Bomb combo. I did appreciate Tony D’s character progress as he wanted to win the right way (no cheating or interference) but against Ilja, you need every shortcut you can get. ***1/2
Carmelo Hayes vs. Trick Williams
Decent match and a solid part 1 to their in-ring story. Storyline wise and heat wise, this was a deserving main event. In-ring wise? Probably not. They bring the intensity which is really good. They also pack this with loads of ref bumps and stuff which is a good way to protect both men and the feud. The announcers kept pushing that NXT management wanted a decisive winner here which kind of telegraphed a screwy finish. The finishing run is good here. Melo hit a low blow when the referee was down and delivered Nothing but Net for a great near fall with a new referee. That new official plays a part later when he stops Melo from using a chair and Trick takes advantage to hit the Trick Shot and win. While this won’t be a feud ender, this feels like a really monumental win for Trick. He’ll be NXT Champ in 2024 I think. ***1/2
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