SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NXT TV RESULTS
JANUARY 14, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
NXTCommentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T
Ring Announcer: Mike Rome
Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber, Byron Saxton
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST
-There was a video package outlining the big happenings at New Year’s Evil last week, culminating with Oba Femi and Giulia holding up their newly won belts and finally Rock hitting his catchphrase.
-Oba Femi’s music brought him out to open the show proper. As usual, he was the best-dressed man in the room. He said destiny always arrives, and now he’s arrived. He said a lot of men come out and say “I never believed I could do it!” He said it in a really lame whiny way and got some good laughs. He said he always believed he could do it. He said he was backed by destiny when he became NXT Champion. He said all of this belongs to him now, and he’ll rule how he sees fit. He said it was time to acknowledge Trick Williams, who put a lot of work in. He said Williams has a ceiling, but he doesn’t. He said Eddy Thorpe is a piece of work, and he’s like a piece of gum you can’t scrape from your shoe. He started making warnings to Thorpe to annoy someone else.
Tony D’Angelo’s music played him to the ring. He congratulated him and said he’s in the big seat now. He said Femi was the longest-reigning North American Champion, but as far as that championship goes, it’s Don 2, Oba 1. He said he’s the one man to beat him and when they meet, he’s going to walk out of the ring Double Champ Don. Oba said last week D’Angelo got his ass kicked by Santa Claus. D’Angelo said he’d take care of Ridge Holland.
Holland’s music played him to the ramp. He brought D a belated Christmas gift – a framed photo of him beating down D last week. D’Angelo said he’d sign it for him, and he brawled with him on the ramp. Femi watched from the ring, and from behind him, Eddy Thorpe showed up and sucker punched Femi from behind. He beat down Femi with a strap – could be a hint there. Thorpe posed with the NXT Championship.
-In the locker room, Ethan Page stormed in on a conversation between Dante Chen and Oro Mensah. Page said he could smell the jealousy in the locker room. Chen said nobody’s jealous. He said after what he did to Evans and Cedric, nobody wanted him there. They nearly came to blows, and Chen put his arms up and said he was going to Ava to get this made.
-Stephanie Vaquer entered ahead of the opener. [c]
-The Meta Girls, Fyre and Dawn, and Roxanne Perez all walked to the venue (separately).
(1) STEPHANIE VAQUER vs. SHOTZI – match to determine #1 contender for Women’s NXT North American Championship
Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley accompanied Shotzi to the ramp, but went back. They grappled on the mat early and got a couple of quick coers and a lot of reversals. The two reset about a minute in and went back to some grapples. Vaquer hit an arm drag and a rollup for two. Shotzi trapped Vaquer for two. Shotzi worked a leg submission and hit a backslide for two. Enzuigiri by Shotzi. Shotzi charged Vaquer to a corner and hit a headscissors over the top, then flew in with a high cross-body for two. Shotzi booted Vaquer, who returned with an arm drag and the knee stomps on the mat. Shotzi bailed and the match went to commercial. [c]
Shotzi booted Vaquer at the top, then went up and hit a huracanrana to the mat. Flash knee followed by combo kicks and Shotzi covered for two. Vaquer booted Shotzi in the jaw but Shotzi hit a cannonball in the corner right after. Shotzi hit a double-underhook suplex for a very long two. Shotzi charged and Vaquer hip-tossed her into the corner, booted her and hit Meteora. Cover for two. Shotzi rolled through a suplex attempt and the two went to blows. Jacy Jayne showed up and tried to meddle, and they hit tandem headbutts. On the other end of the ring, Fallon Henley brained Vaquer with her belt, clearly wanting no part of a match with Vaquer. Shotzi covered for three, but after she saw what happened, she wasn’t happy. The faces and heels jawed.
WINNER: Shotzi at 11:03.
(Wells’s Analysis: Shotzi was destined to win this somehow, as NXT tries to hold back on this particular (inevitable?) title change by lengthening the Vaquer-Fatal Influence feud. Shotzi gets a title match in two weeks. This match was pretty strong, as Shotzi has really improved on chain wrestling and being more selective with her shrieks)
-Zaria tried to gas up Kelani Jordan after some tough losses. Cora Jade showed up and said she needs to get to the back of the line now. She said she was just the same little girl from Michigan State. Jordan slapped her, hard, and said “I’m not the same girl” and stormed off as Jade held her jaw. [c]
Oba Femi went into Ava’s room and said he wanted a match with Eddy Thorpe. Ava said she wasn’t rewarding his bad behavior. Mr. Stone, once again “Mr.” and not “Rob,” I guess, called Oba “my man” and said “Eddy is playing you like a fiddle!” Femi held Stone up against the wall and said if he wants Eddy, as the NXT Champion, he gets Eddy. Ava said alright, it’s on for next week.
(2) DANTE CHEN vs. ETHAN PAGE
Page jumped Chen during his entrance. Once the bell sounded a minute later, Chen took total control with combo kicks from all angles. Page hit the deck and yanked Chen neck-first into a rope. Page hit his finisher.
WINNER: Ethan Page at 0:57.
Page kept up the attack on Chen. He removed Chen’s right boot, trapped his lower leg behind the steel steps, and booted him between them Chen yelled out in pain as a bevy of officials tried to break it up and help Chen. A few losers chanted “One more time!” Je’Von Evans charged to a big reaction, but Page went after the kayfabe-injured jaw and Evans spat from a blood capsule. Page yelled “Give me a smile now, Evans!” [c]
-Oba Femi walked through the back. Dion Lennox congratulated him and said one day he’d be challenging him for the title. Femi shrugged and rolled his eyes. Lennox said “someday.” The scene went to Izzi Dame storming in on a conversation with Adrianna Rizzo and Shawn Spears. Dame said she didn’t need Spears and Rizzo definitely didn’t. Spears said “maybe” and walked off. Rizzo told Dame she had it handled. Dame said whatever and walked away. She walked past Karmen Petrovic and Ashante Thee Adonis being all lovey-dovey and went “ugh!.” She left the scene and the lovebirds lingered. Adonis said he was making it official and he gave her a rose. She said “about damned time” and kissed him to a big fan reaction. They walked off together. Booker T was all about it.
-Giulia retrospective. We got a look back at her short journey to the match last week, and she narrated very briefly in Japanese about being new champion.
-Vic tried to promote a couple of matches, but the production team accidentally went to a WWE Shop video and he cut himself short until they pulled back from it. He said he was about to promote the next match, just as the Meta-Girls were being introduced. [c]
-Sarah Schreiber stood with #DIY, who got booed. She called them the WWE Tag Team Champions, and Tommaso Ciampa corrected her and said two-time champions. They said they were here to watch Fraxiom up close and in person, because they’ll be facing them someday. Ciampa said you could trust them. Johnny Gargano said “No shenanigans, Sarah…no shenanigans.”
(3) THE META-GIRLS (Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson) vs. THE UNHOLY UNION (Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn) – Match to determine #1 contenders to WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship
Jackson and Fyre opened the match. Fyre took control with her grappling game, but Jackson reversed using a rope. Fyre got in a palm strike but Jackson hit a dropkick. Both teams tagged. Legend used her power to lift Dawn, who slipped to the mat. Legend splashed Dawn in a corner and tagged. Jackson tauntingly waved at Fyre and splashed Dawn also. Jackson hit a sling blade and an elbow drop for two. The Metas tagged again and Lash splashed Dawn and covered for two. Dawn got in some shots but Legend leveled her with one. Fyre interfered to take control and she tagged in. The heels stomped Legend. Fyre leaned on Legend with a boot.
[HOUR TWO]
Legend got back into it with some knees and boots, but Dawn ran in and jumped on her back. Legend tossed her off and tagged. The Metas set up something with Jackson up on top of Legend’s shoulders, but a trip later, and Jackson ate the corner buckle. The Metas ended up outside and Fyre hit them with a cannonball off the top turnbuckle. There was an “NXT” chant as the match went to split-screen commercial. [c]
Jackson hit an enzuigiri to make the hot tag to Legend, who dominated the Union. Fallaway slam for Dawn. Legend kipped up and hit a flapjack on Dawn, atop Fyre. Choke slam by Legend got two, and Dawn made the save. Dawn begged off and Fyre chop-blocked her when she stalked Dawn. Legend slammed each Union member and tagged Jackson. Once again they stacked up, and Jackson hit a high cross-body on both opponents. She covered Fyre for two. The heels isolated Jackson and teamed for a senton/backstabber combo. Cover, and Legend broke it up. It went bonzo gonzo for a minute or so.
Again, the heels isolated Jackson. Jakara managed a reverse X-factor and crawled for a tag, and made a blind one. Legend took advantage of the heels not knowing, and she and Jackson hit a team finisher.
WINNERS: The Meta-Girls at 12:54.
(Wells’s Analysis: Legend had some growing pains a couple of years ago and Jackson had them much more recently, but you’d never know it as they were both very good here. Dawn and Fyre are the right kind of opponents to have a good match against, but all the same, they’re doing some really good things.)
-Lexis King got a congratulations from Ava back near the shipping area. Charlie Dempsey and Wren Sinclair walked into the scene and Sinclair kept trying to bring up King hitting Dempsey in the nuts. She asked everyone if they hear that, and she was referring to the word “rematch” being chanted in her head. It seemed like everyone was in agreement. Something crashed against the closed shipping door, and Ava went outside, followed by the cameraman. Tony D’Angelo and Ridge Holland were brawling outside.
-Kelani Jordan made her entrance. [c]
-TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich was watching the action from the front row.
(4) KELANI JORDAN vs. CORA JADE
Shoving to open. Jordan hit a nice shotgun dropkick, then took Jade down for some ground & pound. Jade bailed and Jordan gave chase. Back inside, rope run, leapfrog, and an ax-handle and cross-body by Jordan. Cover for two. Springboard block by Jordan, who went up, but Jade flipped her to the mat. Jade tied up Jordan in the ropes and licked her hand and hit her with a palm strike. Vic promoted Ridge Holland challenging for the North American Championship next week.
Jade tied up Jordan again and leaned on her, but missed a running strike. Small package by Jordan for two. Jordan got in a couple for strikes but Jade hit a rising knee in the corner, then covered for two. Once again, Slamovich was shown smirking at the action. Vic mentioned she’d be defending the Championship at Genesis. Jade and Jordan reset in the ring and threw rights. Jade missed an enzuigiri and Jordan hit a running elbow. X-Factor and a cover by Jordan got two. Jordan stomped Jade to cheers.
Jordan stomped Jade in a corner until the official tore her away. Jordan went at Jade with a series of rights and the official held her back again, and Jade raked the face. Jade hit a double underhook and her DDT finisher.
WINNER: Cora Jade at 5:11.
Jade took a long look at Slamovich after the match.
(Wells’s Analysis: Very strong action here, and Jade needed a win badly as she’s had to take a lot of lumps since her return. Jordan continues the story of getting more edgy after she too has had to take her turn with a string of losses starting with the title loss to Fallon Henley)
-Eddy Thorpe, via social media showed the full moon and asked if you know what that does for a wolf. He said he set the bait again, and Oba took it again. He said it was so easy, and so predictable. He gave a shout out to Ava for making the match and said it almost made up for her calling him a liar last week. He said next week, the ruler will be overthrown, and in the meantime, he’s going to celebrate. He said Femi has no idea how good he feels right now.
-Vic promoted the effort through Red Cross to help those who lost their homes in California.
-Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs showed up to Axiom and Nathan Frazer. He said they went about things all wrong, and they got next. OTM stepped in and said they’re talking to the wrong ones, because they’re about to be champions. They said if these guys try to step to them, they’ll drag them through the mud. Inamura excitedly asked if they mud wrestle. A brawl erupted soon after. [c]
-Vic promoted Vengeance Day, Saturday, February 15th in Washington, D.C.
-Via socials, Trick Williams said he needed to figure out what his next move will be.
(5) AXIOM & NATHAN FRAZER (c) vs. OTM (Bronco Nima & Lucien Price) – NXT Tag Team Championship match
OTM’s graphic said “with Jaida Parker,” but she wasn’t there, and she wasn’t mentioned. Mike Rome handled formal introductions. Frazer was still wearing the face mask, selling the beating he took from Oba Femi some time ago.
The match started with 24 minutes still remaining before the top of the hour. Axiom and Price started, and Frazer made a quick tag as the champs created movement around Price. He was able to cut off Axiom with a lariat. There was a massive response, which made sense when we found out that #DIY had shown up on the perch to watch the match. The crowd cheered them out of habit, of course. Frazer was isolated in the OTM corner, and Nima drove Frazer hard to the mat and tagged Price. Frazer got in a quick shot and made the tag. He and Axiom used their speed to strike both guys a bunch of times, but Price hit his feet and turned Axiom inside-out with a lariat as the match went to commercial (probably not the only one, with all this time left). [c]
OTM was dominating, and Vic said they had done so “throughout the picture and picture break,” but they didn’t go to split-screen during the last break. Nima went for a fallaway slam but Axiom hit a crucifix for two. Both guys made tags. Frazer struck early and often, both on Price and on an interfering Nima. Standing shooting star press got two. Frazer missed a phoenix splash but landed on his feet. Nima tagged in and hit a high-angle slam on Frazer and covered, but Axiom broke it up. Vic mentioned Jaida Parker’s influence on these men, so I can stop obsessing over the fact that they hadn’t mentioned her yet. Axiom and Frazer teamed up and Axiom covered for two. Axiom worked a guillotine, and Frazer held off Nima. Nima was able to fight to his feet and suplex Frazer onto the mass and break up the submission attempt. We got a reaction shot of Ciampa and Gargano, who winced.
Price dominated Axiom, then caught Frazer when he flew in and slammed him on top of Axiom. He covered Frazer for two. Price and Nima hit a double-team move and Axiom wasn’t there to break it up, so the near-fall was believable. Nima and Frazer tangled in the ring while the others fought near the announce table. Price uncovered the table but Axiom superkicked him onto it. Axiom ran to the face corner and made the tag. Frazer sailed from the top rope to the announce table, destroying Price through it. In the ring, Axiom hit a top-rope move and the Golden Ratio for the win. Price sold the table spot the old-school way, shaking and staring blankly.
WINNERS: Axiom & Nathan Frazer at 13:13.
(Wells’s Analysis: Axiom and Frazer remain unbeatable. They’ll lose to #DIY if the teams face off, of course, but that won’t be for the titles. This match displayed that all four guys are playing perfectly within themselves; OTM are working like dominating big men and it means something when the smaller guys manage to get the better of them. I’m still not sure why Parker wasn’t out there, but maybe it was tougher to justify OTM not winning with her there)
-Backstage, Roxanne Perez walked ahead of her address. Outside, someone arrived and we just saw boots stepping out of a car and walking. The announcers wondered who had arrived at the venue. [c]
-Next week, Tony D’Angelo defends against Ridge Holland, and Oba Femi defends against Eddy Thorpe.
-Roxanne Perez was in the ring, just six minutes from the hour. She said no one expected her to hold the women’s championship for 276 days. Nine title defenses. She said she made history by making women’s wrestling special. She wanted to make a women’s division that could main event. She said they attracted the best “woman” all around the world, because she steadfastly refuses to say “women” even when that’s the word. She put over the division but said the fans and the division don’t deserve her. She said nobody deserves her.
Bayley’s music played to an enormous reaction. There was a “welcome back” chant. She said she had to come out there because she knew Perez needed help, because she can either put on that attitude or adapt. Perez said she didn’t want advice. Bayley said she’s been asking for advice since she was even shorter. Bayley said Kelani, Jaida, and even Cora would be fine without her. Perez asked Bayley why she was there. She said Bayley set records, but she broke them. Perez said Bayley used to be her role model, but now she could be Bayley’s. The credits started, and Bayley said “You can still be like this, while I’ll be-” and like that, the feed flipped away to my local news. So, wherever this was going, they didn’t get their before the show ended. Good Lord.
FINAL THOUGHTS: It’s hard to lead with anything but the unfinished scene in the ring, in a moment that had everything except Tony Schiavone yelling out “WE GOTTA GO!” as Lex Luger or Sting fought the entire nWo. Otherwise, the show had a lot to like, with some interesting continuing stories and new championship reigns getting started. Wisely, without something big for her, Giulia was kept off of the show (though there was a hype segment for her) so she can have her own moment soon enough. Nate Lindberg and I will cover it shortly on PWT Talks NXT, which I’ll try to keep to a manageable length as I have to pack for a flight tomorrow morning. Wouldn’t want to be more prepared than this, of course.
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