Several wrestlers made their return in this week’s WWE NXT New Year’s Evil special, and other upcoming returns were revealed.
This week, Jinder Mahal returned to NXT, attacking The Creed Brothers while Sanga explained that because Veer Mahaan was not present, the Indus Sher vs. Creeds tag team match could not take place. Jinder and Sanga destroyed the brothers, after which Jinder declared that, while Sanga and Veer fight with respect, he does not.
Later in the show, Mahal defeated Julius Creed in singles action. After the show, Mahal and Sanga spoke with Kelly Kincaid, as seen in the video below. Mahal stated that his brothers fight with honor, but he does not, and he is here to show them that if they fight with honor and respect and follow the rules, they will become nothing in WWE.
Mahal had not appeared on WWE TV since losing a World Cup match to Braun Strowman on November 11 SmackDown, and he had previously been out for four months. On the post-Christmas live event tour, Jinder worked against Bray Wyatt.
Mark Coffey and Wolfgang of Gallus also appeared at New Year’s Evil, but Joe Coffey was nowhere to be found. NXT Tag Team Champions appeared in the return angle. In their three-team Gauntlet match, The New Day introduced Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen as the final team for Pretty Deadly, but Jensen and Briggs are attacked backstage by Gallus. Gallus then entered the ring to a standing ovation and defeated Pretty Deadly, teasing a title match between Gallus and The New Day.
Gallus vs. Briggs and Jensen has been announced for NXT next Tuesday.
Gallus was last seen on NXT TV in September, when they were suspended for a storyline after losing a Pub Rules match to Jensen and Briggs. They were recently reported to be dealing with work visa issues in the United Kingdom.
Tyler Bate was also recently reported to be among those dealing with work visa issues. During Tuesday night’s show, a vignette for Bate aired, announcing that he will return to NXT TV next Tuesday night.
Bate stated that he is returning to NXT for new challenges and to complete some unfinished business, and that this time he intends to stay. Bate has been missing since his defeat to JD McDonagh on the September 20 episode.
Stevie Turner will also be back on WWE TV soon. Turner was featured in a vignette on last night’s New Year’s Evil special, which you can see below.
Turner’s main brand debut date has not been announced. Turner was signed by WWE to work the NXT UK brand in March 2021 after stints with RevPro and Stardom. She made her NXT UK debut on April 1, 2021, defeating Laura Di Matteo. On the July 14, 2022 episode, she was defeated by Amale.
Tiffany Stratton made her NXT debut Tuesday night, as previously reported at this link.
A tag team match between Axiom and Apollo Crews vs. Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams has been announced for next week’s NXT. Next week’s episode will also include Bate’s return, as well as Gallus vs. Jensen and Briggs.
The following are highlights from Tuesday night’s show:
?@StevieTurnerWWE #WWENXT #NewYearsEvil pic.twitter.com/wCFWmr8Kn5
— WWE (@WWE) January 11, 2023
