NXT TV RESULTS (2/4): Wells’s live report on Oba Femi & Trick Williams vs. A-Town Down Under, Bayley-Giulia-Perez summit, Stephanie Vaquer vs. Jacy Jayne, more

by Kelly Wells, PWTorch Contributor


SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...

NXT TV RESULTS
FEBRUARY 4, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

NXTCommentators: Corey Graves, Vic Joseph, Booker T

Ring Announcer: Mike Rome

Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber


CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST

-Roxanne Perez was shown walking first, and Vic mentioned her record-breaking Rumble performance. Many of tonight’s other performers were shown arriving, as usual.

(1) STEPHANIE VAQUER vs. JACY JAYNE (w/Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx)

Nyx is still wearing the face guard. Fatal Influence got a tepid reaction, as they’ve kind of slipped into the background of late. Vaquer’s pops remain hot.

Vaquer pointed at the audience as a “Stephanie” chant went out. Vic mentioned Vaquer’s Rumble entrance and Corey went off about the greatness of Charlotte, winning her second Rumble. Jayne took the early advantage and put Vaquer’s head into the corner a couple of times. She leaned on Vaquer with a boot. Jayne charged with a back splash but Vaquer caught her for a half-and-half. Vaquer hit a running leg drop for two.

Vaquer leaned in a corner with some face washes. Jayne yanked Vaquer’s hair to put her on the mat, and then missed a running senton. Vaquer did her knee attack on the mat. Action went outside and after Jayne reentered, Henley yanked her from the apron. Vaquer stalked Henley, leaving her open to a cheap shot from Jayne heading into split-screen commercial. [c]

Nate Lindberg texted me to let me know Booker T has hit “Ohhhh yeeeesss, man” five times already tonight. Sometimes the best part of recapping is that commentary fades into the background. Back to full-screen, Jayne hit a high kick in the corner and went up, but Vaquer slipped beneath her and hit a kick of her own. Vaquer went up and hit a superplex from the second turnbuckle and both of them sold on the mat.

The two went to a forearm exchange. Jayne grounded Vaquer with a superkick, but Vaquer evaded a cannonball and booted Jayne and hit a shotgun dropkick to the corner. Jayne rolled through a backslide and hit a big knee for two. Vaquer hit a DDT and rolled Jayne up for two. Vaquer hit a 619 and a springboard cross-body for two, broken up by Jazmyn Nyx. Because she ended up hitting Jayne and not Vaquer, there was no disqualification. Ehhhh. Vaquer quickly neutralized Nyx and hit her finisher on Jayne.

WINNER: Stephanie Vaquer at 11:21.

(Wells’s Analysis: That was way too much offense from Jayne on someone who’s a huge priority like Vaquer. I know they work these long matches to get their stuff in, but given the booking of the two, Vaquer should probably flatten Jayne in about four minutes, barring huge interference from her teammates. Of course, the action was quite good, despite the iffy amount of offense)

-In the locker room, Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson had a war of words with Sol Ruca and Zaria. Zaria went after Legend for not being able to bring home the Women’s Tag Team Championships. Ruca tried to get Zaria to stop talking, but she kept at it. She also mentioned Lash getting eliminated from the women’s Royal Rumble match. Gigi Dolin, Tatum Paxley & Shotzi showed up and Tatum wanted to break it up. Dolin backed up Legend, saying she “stepped up to the plate” by entering the Rumble. [c]

-A promoted spot showed Roxanne Perez’s awesome night at the Royal Rumble, and covered many of her big moments.

-Sarah Schreiber caught up with Oba Femi in the locker room. He said Ava might run everything that happens in NXT, but he runs everything that happens in the ring. He said he doesn’t owe Trick Williams anything and they’ll go to work when they get to the ring.

-Lexis King was in the ring with the Heritage Cup. He’s being booked face, I think, but his facial hair is more gloriously obnoxious than ever. He said he wanted to go out there and be humble, but he didn’t know how when he was on a path to be the biggest star in the history of professional wrestling. Legit, this guy turns from week to week. He went after Ryan Leaf for giving him advice. Booker T snuck in “I agree with that, brother.” He said he played to the beat of his own dream. He said he has the looks that kill and the pedigree that will. He said people believed he was going to become some law-abiding beta, but he isn’t a normie. Okay, the obnoxious use of buzzwords is good heel stuff. He said he tried to be anything but his father. He didn’t know who he was. He said he knew he was a loose cannon and would do anything to win. He said it was a shame because he had so much potential but he never got there. He said in the end, he’s his father’s son. He said he was the NXT Heritage Cup Champion because he stayed true to who he is. He said his “sweet queen” (the Cup) has been mistreated for too long. He said his first degree was the removal of the rounds, the corner men, and the time limits. He said it was now one fall, winner take all. Ugh.

Out of nowhere, Fandango’s music played to a huge reaction. He reintroduced himself. King said he remembers him and when he and Tyler Breeze used to run around like idiots here. Fandango said that was rich coming from a guy who looked like his face was spray-painted on. Fandango pointed out that his name is JDC and he represents The System from TNA, and he was in the back and made a deal with Ava to have a Heritage Cup Championship match next week. He said he looks forward to drinking from the Cup after he wins it.

(Wells’s Analysis: If the Heritage Cup rules are really just becoming one fall to a finish now, the championship is useless. It’s interesting because it’s something different but the brand doesn’t need another regular singles championship. Better for it to go away entirely than to be more of the same, just for undercard guys)

-There was a scene in an abandoned warehouse that looked like a scene from a crummy network drama where Tony D’Angelo talked to a bunch of people. Oh god, it IS a crummy network drama. He’s apparently appearing on the next episode of “Wild Cards” on CW. The Family was watching the spot on a video backstage and talked about their next moves as far as the feud with Ridge Holland. [c]

(2) CHANNING “STACKS” LORENZO (w/The Family) vs. RIDGE HOLLAND

Stacks attacked Holland before the bell and the ref broke them up just long enough to get the match started. Corey said he sat down with Stacks and found out he was a very cerebral young man, and said the underboss was capable of so much more. Shawn Spears, Brooks Jensen and his partner whose name I’ve forgotten were watching from the perch. Bizarrely, commentary never mentioned them and the camera never really focused on them.

Holland dominated the match, and fended off an attempted interference from Izzi Dame and hit the Redeemer to finish. Tony D had a look of complicated emotions on his face.

WINNER: Ridge Holland at 3:43.

(Wells’s Analysis: More an angle than a match, as the Izzi Dame soap opera took more focus than anything)

-Backstage, Frazer & Axiom promoted their next match on TNA, and then Briggs & Inamura showed up and wanted a shot at the championship. [c]

-WWE Evolve hype. Five weeks of promotion is a lot for a show that features green wrestlers who aren’t ready for NXT, but whatever. I’ll check it out and see how it differs from Level Up.

(3) ZARIA & SOL RUCA vs. TATUM PAXLEY & GIGI DOLIN (w/Shotzi)

Paxley and Ruca to start. They worked to an early stalemate, but Dolin made a blind tag and shoved Ruca, who was surfing Paxley. Zaria tagged in and overpowered Dolin, who evaded one shot and jawed at Zaria until she laid her out with one palm strike. Ruca tagged in and ate a dropkick from Dolin. Paxley tagged in and hit a diving elbow for two. Paxley worked a move called “The Spider Inside Her” that was kind of a reverse Gory Special. Dolin tagged in and hit a splash for two. Ruca kicked Dolin away and hit a rana, then tagged Zaria, who dominated both opponents. Pump kicks and headbutts for all. Spear for Dolin, and Paxley made the save. Paxley and Dolin hit stereo enzuigiris. Zaria caught a charging Paxley and slammed her onto Dolin. Ruca tagged in and hit the Sol Snatcher to get the pin on Paxley.

WINNERS: Sol Ruca & Zaria at 4:17.

(Wells’s Analysis: I’m growing so weary of NXT’s tag matches, which are almost always essentially tornado matches for half their runtime. The work here was okay if not totally seamless, but when teams can spend as long as they want in the ring without the ref intervening, what’s the point of tagging legally?)

-A promoted segment featured Stephanie Vaquer and Giulia’s appearances in the Royal Rumble. [c]

[HOUR TWO]

-Schreiber talked to Trick Williams. He said he hadn’t seen Oba Femi all day, but that won’t matter. He said he should’ve been the one to get the title shot at Vengeance Day, not A-Town Down Under. He said he’s going to “Whoop y’all bitch ass” to a big pop. He said Femi’s receipt was coming.

-Women’s Championship match summit. Bayley got a big pop after her entrance. Perez was introduced next and she cut off Mike Rome to talk up her performance in the Royal Rumble. She got booed, though I was afraid she’d get cheers for lasting so long in the Rumble. She talked about the fact that it was Bayley’s record that she beat. She also mentioned that she eliminated Giulia. She went on and on, and Bayley told her to shut up. She said she hoped Perez someday Perez surpasses her and that’s what it’s all about. She said she built one of the original rings in NXT with her bare hands and she sat there and had promo classes with Dusty Rhodes. She said Roxanne Perez is losing herself, and in the process of it, she might lose her best friend (Cora Jade) too.

Perez said Bayley didn’t get it. She said when it comes to the NXT Women’s Championship, she has no friends and no equal. She said Bayley can talk all she wants, but she’s going to win the NXT Championship, and then win one on Raw. She said if she decides to vacate her championship on NXT, maybe Cora can finally win one.

Giulia’s music cut Perez off. “Enough!” Giulia said Roxanne is nothing without a title. She told Bayley she’d beat her too. She said at Vengeance Day, none of them would survive the beautiful madness.

Charlotte’s music played her to the ring after she mentioned on Raw that she’d be heading to NXT to decide whether she wants that championship. “Welcome back” chant. Wouldn’t want to let her succeed in her heel act, eh, Orlando? She said NXT would always be her home. She said last time she won the Royal Rumble, she chose the NXT Championship and she took it to become the two-time NXT Women’s Championship.

Charlotte put over Perez’s performance and said if she was still champion at WrestleMania, she’d be runner-up again. She put over Giulia as well, but she was better. She made a four horsemen hand motion with Bayley and said she’d decide what to do. Cora Jade appeared out of nowhere and beat Bayley and Giulia with her staff. Perez looked worried that she was going to eat a shot too, but Jade didn’t go after her. Charlotte’s mic work was entirely done from the ramp, which felt weird until I realized she wasn’t in there so they wouldn’t have to figure out how to have her deal with Jade’s attack directly.

-Backstage, Ava was talking to Ethan Page and Je’Von Evans, who had to be held apart by security. Evans still sounded unintentionally funny with the mouth guard. Ava said they could have a match at Vengeance Day if he could get himself medically cleared.

-Kelani Jordan entered ahead of the next match. [c]

-Vic promoted WrestleMania.

-Josh Briggs talked to Hank & Tank backstage and made a tag match with them.

-The scene changed to The Family, as well as Izzi Dame, and Ridge Holland showed up and jawed with them. Izzi Dame said they should settle it in a cage match. Holland quickly agreed and D’Angelo said sure, okay. I assume Dame is truly with Holland based on tonight, but I’ve never been quite sure what they’re doing with her.

(4) KELANI JORDAN vs. KARMEN PETROVIC (w/Ashante Thee Adonis)

Jordan dominated with kicks early, but Petrovic hit a diving cross-body for two. The two went to a corner where Jordan hit some blocks. Petrovic hit a hair-grabbing bulldog out of the corner, then worked an armbar. Jordan defended and then hit an axe kick and a dropkick. It showed light and Booker T covered with “She didn’t get all of it.” Jordan flew to the outside and ended up splashing Adonis, who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Jaida Parker showed up on the ramp, allowing Petrovic to hit a tope suicida. Back in the ring, Petrovic hit a DDT for two. The match went to commercial. [c]

Parker was now sitting in on commentary. In the ring, Jordan hit a DDT for two. Parker was shown – she had a headset on, but she was sitting atop the announce table. Petrovic hit some strikes to lay out Jordan. Jordan got in some kicks but Petrovic hit a running kick for two. Petrovic hit a Frankensteiner out of the corner for two. Jordan countered a springboard DDT into a Northern Lights suplex with a bridge for two. Jordan hit an Angle Slam and the split-legged moonsault. She didn’t cover, and instead hit a second. She still didn’t cover, and worked a crossface until Petrovic tapped. Jordan focused on Parker and then snapped it back on Petrovic as Parker laughed, knowing she was under her skin. Mike Rome announced the decision had been reversed. Jordan continued her descent into madness.

WINNER: Karmen Petrovic by reverse decision at 10:37.

(Wells’s Analysis: Jordan is so good and keeps getting better. Petrovic is coming along well enough but is only just starting to get real TV minutes after a lot of backstage focus. Parker seems like she’s ready for the callup, but her appearance in the Rumble was pretty brief, so it might not be her time yet)

-An unseen interviewer talked to Stephanie Vaquer leaving the building. She said she’d make history because she came to NXT to be a champion. She said Jacy and Jazmyn can’t help you – Fallon, I will see you in hell. At one point, someone walked by quietly and got close to Vaquer in a significant way. I was looking away and mostly missed it, but I think it was Elektra Lopez. [c]

-Vic again promoted Wild Cards and we wouldn’t want to miss Tony D as an underground mob boss. Eh, I can already see that weekly and it’s not particularly engaging.

-A promoted segment covered Lash Legend in the Rumble.

-Bayley stormed in on Ava and said “I want that bitch in a match.” Ava said “Which one?” That’s my favorite exchange she’s ever been part of. She meant Cora Jade, and a match was made for next week. Next up was Inamura and Briggs, who wanted a match next week. A triple threat was made with No Quarter Catch Crew and Hank & Tank.

-Schreiber interviewed A-Town Down Under as they walked to the ring backstage. They put themselves over as a team, but it came time to talk about the triple threat championship match and there was a bit of an argument there as both said they would be taking the championship. They got it together and made their entrance. [c]

-Vic covered the Vengeance Day card to this point.

(5) OBA FEMI & TRICK WILLIAMS vs. A-TOWN DOWN UNDER (Grayson Waller & Austin Theory)

Femi tried to start the match, but Williams tagged himself in. As the two had a tense moment, Theory hit Williams from behind. Williams then dominated Theory while focusing on Femi. Waller tagged in and took over on offense and taunted Femi, who looked in intensely. Williams hit a couple of axe kicks and a suplex, still focusing on Femi, who wanted him to focus on the match. Femi tagged in and then he also focused on Williams, and Waller got in a cheap shot. Femi hit a suplex and then Williams tagged himself in again. He was in control and Femi got bumped to the floor by Williams accidentally. Femi yanked Williams to the outside and argued with him. Waller hit a tope con giro on both guys heading into split-screen. [c]

Theory was dominating Williams. He tagged Waller, who hit a big kick and then cheaply bumped Femi to the floor. Waller did some ground & pound on Williams as he continued to play face in peril – an unlikely spot for him, but a necessary one if one is teaming with Oba Femi. Waller tried his spot from the outside, but Williams caught him. Williams finally made the hot tag to Femi, who dominated both heels. He ran the length of the ring to hit blocks as both were caught in corners. He set up a finish and yet again, Williams tagged himself in. Femi looked really ticked off this time. The heels made a blind tag. Williams still had things in hand but the official got hung up with everyone else and Eddy Thorpe showed up and struck Williams with his strap, leaving him open for the heels to finish.

WINNERS: A-Town Down Under at 12:04.

Thorpe stared down Oba Femi, who eventually left as Thorpe had his whip. Thorpe whipped Williams over and over as the feed went to the test pattern from last week. This time, VERY quickly, they showed four people in silhouette. I t was very quick and appears to be a new faction, unless I’m missing a TNA reference because I’m not plugged into the product.


FINAL THOUGHTS: Eddy Thorpe is again an interloper in the main event scene, which I kind of love for him, though he’ll have to eat a pin at Vengeance Day (perhaps in a strap match, unless the weapon is just Eddy’s thing now and not indicative of a match to come) to get one more match out of Femi-Williams at Stand & Deliver before Trick finally moves north. Some hype was done this week, but other than the main event, the show was devoid of any main roster talents in actual matches, so it felt a lot more developmental than last week’s show. I like how the Royal Rumble entrants got a bit of shine but it didn’t overwhelm the show to the point where it became obvious which ones were imminent callups and which aren’t (though I think extremely educated guesses can be made on most of them). Vengeance Day’s card isn’t exactly setting me on fire, but then, the show before the biggest show often has that distinction. Nate Lindberg and I will talk it out on PWT Talks NXT shortly. Check us out! The chat was lively and fun last week and we’ve got a good community going there. Cheers.

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