NXT Review – February 21, 2023
Kicking off this week’s NXT with Trick Williams heads to the ring with a mic in hand. Williams says he is here to prove to the NXT Universe that he can do more than just talk and back up everything he says. He says Ilja Dragunov can do whatever he wants, but he will beat him into oblivion.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams
Trick Williams takes a cheap shot at Ilja Dragunov before the bell then the bell rings and Dragunov wastes no time. He delivers a kick to Williams before Williams shoves him into the corner. Dragunov delivers a pair of chops, then locks in a chinlock. Williams escapes and delivers a right hand, but Dragunov fires back with a chop.
He follows it up with a jumping knee, then ascends to the middle rope. Williams pulls him off, and Dragunov delivers a kick to his midsection. He follows it up with a pair of right hands across his spine, then hits one across his neck and whips him into the corner.
He delivers a lariat then climbs to the middle rope Williams pushes him off and sends him crashing to the outside as JD McDonagh saunters down to ringside to watch on. Williams gets Dragunov in the ring then goes for a pin but Dragunov kicks out that takes us to a break.
After the break McDonagh has joined commentary as Williams is wearing down Dragunov. He delivers a few elbows to the back of Dragunov’s neck, but Dragunov fires back with a modified lariat. Dragunov then delivers a kick to William’s ace, then hits a jumping right hand and climbs to the top.
He delivers a knee and goes for a pin, but Williams kicks out. Williams sends Dragunov crashing into the mat, then sets up for a dive but Dragunov ducks out of the way, then delivers a German suplex and Torpedo Moscow for the win.
Winner: Ilja Dragunov
After the match McDonagh & Dragunov stare one another down.
We go backstage to a worried Fallon Henley. Henley tells Brooks Jensen through his voicemail to call her back as Josh Briggs walks in. Henley tells Briggs that she’s worried about Jensen. Briggs tells Henley that Jensen will get her message after he listens to her many voicemails she has left, then tells her she has to stop. Henley asks Briggs if he found it suspicious that Kiana James would hide the fact that the man she was talking to on the phone was her brother. Briggs says while it is weird, she ruined Jensen & James’ Valentine’s date. Henley agrees to drop it and walks away.
We head to a video of Meiko Satomura teaching a class. Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez asks to join, and Satomura tells her she’s welcome to do so. We see Satomura training her students, and they all begin to drop like flies except for Perez. They finish doing 1,000 squats and Perez goes to leave, but Satomura tells her that was just the warm up. The words to be continued then appear on screen.
Tyler Bate expresses his gratitude for the support of the NXT Universe and thanks them for their continued support no matter who he faces. He says that he is about to embark on a spiritual journey together but before he can continue The Schism’s music hits and they head to the ring.
Joe Gacy says he believes he & Bate are kindred spirits. Bate says he isn’t interested in joining the group. Ava says they may be kindred spirits in some ways but not all ways. Gacy says you have to be careful of who you surround yourself with as he and the rest of Schism begin surrounding him. Gacy says Schism is his real family, and says they gave him a glimpse of what life with them could be like. He asks if Bate wants to feel the power of their division before Ava says that he has no one while The Schism is 4 roots in 1 tree. Chase U’s music then hits and they run down to provide Bate with some support.
Tag Team Match
Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson) vs. The Dyad (Rip Fowler & Jagger Reid)
Duke Hudson is battling it out with Rip Fowler. Hudson delivers a shoulder tackle, then tags in Andre Chase. Chase delivers a drop toe hold before Jagger Reid tags in and delivers a right hand to Chase’s head. He fires off several stomps then begins wearing Chase down. Fowler tags back in and delivers a stomp, then delivers a Tombstone. Reid tags in and targets Chase’s shoulder, but Chase makes the hot tag to Hudson as Fowler tags in.
Hudson delivers a back elbow and a series of right hands, then delivers a senton. Chase tags in and delivers an enziguri, then hits a superkick and goes for a pin. Reid kicks out and Hudson tags back in. Hudson clotheslines Fowler to the outside, but Reid rolls him up. Hudson kicks out, and Fowler tags in. Fowler pulls Hudson to the outside before Reid delivers a tope suicida that sends us to a break.
We are back from the break Hudson plants Fowler with a back body drop. Chase & Reid tag in. Chase fires off a right hand and an inverted atomic drop then follows it up with several more right hands and a double DDT to The Dyad. Chase then delivered a twisting neckbreaker before leveling Fowler on the outside with a moonsault. He delivers a crossbody to Reid off the top and goes for a pin, but Fowler kicks out.
They go back & forth with right hands before Chase delivers a side Russian leg sweep and the Chase U Stomps. Ava stares down Hail and approaches her on the outside before Chase stands up for her. Hudson tags in and hits Reid with a German suplexes but The Dyad gets the better of him and delivers double Codebreakers for the win.
Winners: The Dyad
After the match Hudson lets out his frustrations towards Chase & Hail. He tells Hail that she needs to grow up as Hail cries out of fear. He asks Chase whether or not he’s running a university or a charity.
We then go backstage to Mr. Stone & Von Wagner. Stone asks Wagner if he’s ready to open up, and Wagner asks Stone what he wants from him. Tony D’Angelo & Stacks walk in. D’Angelo tells Wagner he stole his North American Title shot from him, and Wagner asks them if they’re talking to him. Stacks says Wagner should be a comedian but it won’t be funny when D’Angelo beats him down. Stone tells Wagner not to accept, and Wagner listens. Stacks & D’Angelo egg Wagner on and Wagner accepts.
Mitchell asks Gulak why he turned on Hank Walker last week, and Gulak says he was just some guy to come to his class. He says he came to NXT to hand out opportunities to the best of the best, and while Walker is a nice guy, you can’t be afraid to rip limbs. He says Dempsey isn’t afraid to do that.
There was a vignette of Sol Ruca saying that she continues to try new things in order to improve in every aspect possible
Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell
Match starts off with a lock up before Jayne delivers a right hand and a knee but Hartwell whips her into the corner and delivers a pair of short arm clotheslines. Jayne fires back with a couple of sentons and a snapmare, then follows it up with a kick to her spine and goes for a pin. Hartwell kicks out and Jayne locks in a chinlock.
Hartwell manages to escape, then delivers a couple of right hands and a spinebuster. She follows it up with an uppercut and a boot but Jayne whips Hartwell into the corner before hitting a cannonball and a boot to Hartwell’s head. Jayne yells at Hartwell and sets up for another move but Gigi Dolin appears out of nowhere and attacks Jayne.
Winner By DQ: Jacy Jayne
After the match Dolin whips Jayne into the barricade a double of times then brawls up the ramp with her to the back.
We then head to the 2nd part of the training session between Meiko Satomura & Roxanne Perez. They show a sign of respect to one another after their session and Satomura tells Perez that winning comes from the heart not the muscles.
Zoey Stark was interviewed backstage & promised that she was done with Sol Ruca before challenging Meiko Satomura to a match.
Non Title Match
NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus (Mark Coffey & Wolfgang) vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade
Match starts off with Mark Coffey & Malik Blade lock up. Blade looks for a dropkick but Mark ducks it and tags in Wolfgang. Wolfgang delivers an uppercut then tags Coffey back in. Coffey delivers a forearm and a series of uppercuts, then plants Blade. Two men walk to the ring with a cake as Enofé tags in.
He hits Wolfgang with a dropkick then ascends to the top rope and delivers an elbow drop then goes for a pin but Coffey kicks out. Blade tags in and Mark delivers a back elbow. Wolfgang tags in, and Gallus hits the Powerslam/Running Elbow combo on Blade to score the win.
Winners: NXT Tag Team Champions Gallus
After the match The two boys at ringside then bring in the cake and it reads Happy Anniversary. They tell Gallus that they are there on behalf of Pretty Deadly, and Wolfgang sends their faces into the cake. They toss them out of the ring before Pretty Deadly appear behind them with chairs in hand. They take a few shots at Gallus before sending them colliding into the ring steps. Wolfgang is then sent crashing on top of the ring steps, and Pretty Deadly stand tall as they hold the NXT Tag Team Titles over their heads.
There was a vignette of Dabba Kato to remind Apollo Crews who helped him in every big moment and stated that he came to hurt Apollo Crews for leaving him alone in the Main Roster & promised to be the one to take Apollo Crews out of the wrestling world.
Stevie Turner interrupted the broadcast & debuted the Stevie Randomizer. She talked about Lyra Valkyria & her trajectory in NXT before saying that Valkyria was no match to her.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Von Wagner
Match starts off with a lock up before Tony D’Angelo delivers a back elbow but Von Wagner shoves him into the corner and delivers a few shoulders to his midsection. He follows it up with a pair of knees, but D’Angelo manages to deliver a series of right hands. Wagner delivers a big boot as Mr. Stone sits down in a chair at ringside.
Wagner then delivers a clothesline and fires off a series of right hands, then follows it up with a body slam and a standing elbow drop. Wagner sends D’Angelo into the top turnbuckle face first, then hits a splash and sets up for another one.
D’Angelo moves out of the way and delivers a pair of clotheslines then follows it up with a belly 2 belly and a spinebuster. He then nails Wagner to the mat with the Back Suplex into a Clothesline for the win.
Winner: Tony D’Angelo
After the match Wagner & Mr. Stone get out of the ring as Kelly Kincaid joins D’Angelo & Stacks in the ring. D’Angelo thanks Stacks for his loyalty after the events that happened between him & Dijak last week, then says this thing has to end. Kincaid asks how he plans to do so and D’Angelo challenges him to a Jailhouse Street Fight at Roadblock.
We then go backstage to McKenzie Mitchell is with Nikkita Lyons & Mitchell asks if Lyons can tell the NXT Universe anything she can remember, and Lyons says she will likely be out for 11 – 12 months. Lyons says she wished she had more to say, but she can’t remember anything because she was hit from behind. Tiffany Stratton walks in and asks why everyone is talking about this when this time could be dedicated towards her. They get into a verbal altercation before a frustrated Stratton storms off.
Tatum Paxley wishes Ivy Nile luck and Nile is surprised to hear she isn’t joining her at ringside. She asks Paxley if Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre are getting to her, and Paxley says no. Nile reassures her that they are a team and Dawn & Fyre just want to get in their heads.
Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams talked backstage before Tyler Bate congratulated Williams for his efforts against Ilja Dragunov earlier in the night. Hayes praised Bate’s abilities but told Bate to keep his lane away from the NXT Title because that it his shot.
Ivy Nile vs. Alba Fyre
Alba Fyre whips Ivy Nile to the mat, then delivers a chop. Nile whips Fyre into the corner, but Fyre sends her crashing into the middle rope and plants her face first. She hits a kick across her chest and goes for a pin but Nile kicks out. Nile fires off a couple forearms, but Fyre hits a knee. Nile delivers a kick to Fyre’s chest but Fyre sets up for the Gory Bomb.
Nile reverses it into a pinning predicament, but Fyre kicks out. Nile sets Fyre up for a reverse DDT as Dawn hops on the apron. Paxley gets on the other side and yells at her, but Fyre sends Nile crashing into Paxley knocking her off the apron. Fyre then delivers the Gory Bomb to Nile for the win.
Winner: Alba Fyre
There was a video package of NXT Champion Bron Breakker ahead of his match against Jinder Mahal later on in the show.
After the break we head to 1/2 of the NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Kiana James in her office. Fallon Henley walks in and says she was wrong about James on the phone, but she could’ve told her the truth. James says she didn’t tell her in order to build up trust between them, then accepts her apology. She says everyone gets jealous sometimes, and while Henley objects to her statement, they shake hands.
North American Champion Wes Lee was interviewed backstage by McKenzie Mitchell with Wes Lee saying that he would do an Open Challenge again next week.
NXT Title Match
Bron Breakker (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
Match begins with a lock up then Jinder Mahal slams Bron Breakker to the mat then delivers a shoulder tackle. Breakker fires back with one of his own then delivers a shoulder tackle. Indus Sher pulls Mahal out of the ring, but Breakker levels the 3 of them with a cannonball over the top rope. They get back in the ring and level one another with clotheslines as Creed Brothers run down to ringside and begin brawling with Indus Sher that takes us to a break.
We are back from the break Breakker plants Mahal. He then delivers a suplex, but Mahal fires back with a boot off the apron. He sends his head bouncing off the announce table then sends him crashing into the ring steps and tosses him back in the ring. He goes for a pin, but Breakker kicks out.
Mahal rains down right hands then delivers a pair of elbows. Breakker fires back with a vertical suplex before they go back & forth with right hands. Breakker gains the upper hand and delivers a German suplex then follows it up with a spinebuster.
They spill to the outside before Breakker sends Mahal’s head bouncing off the announce desk. He gets him back in the ring and follows him inside, but Mahal catches him with a knee and a suplex.
Breakker delivers a few shoulders to Mahal’s midsection and a hurricanrana off the top rope then ascends to the middle rope and goes flying. Mahal catches him with a boot and sets up for Khallas but Breakker escapes and nails a Spear for the win.
Winner & Still NXT Champion: Bron Breakker (STILL CHAMPION!!!!)
After the match Carmelo Hayes stares down Bron Breakker but before we go off the air, Grayson Waller takes over the show from backstage. He taunts Shawn Michaels and brags about taking over the production truck then says he is the new showstopper. He says Stand & Deliver will be his show then challenges Michaels to meet him in the ring at Roadblock on a special episode of The Grayson Waller Effect to end this week’s NXT.
Next Week’s NXT
North American Title Match
Wes Lee (c) vs. TBD
Meiko Satomura vs. Zoey Stark
Carmelo Hayes vs. Tyler Bate
Roadblock (March 7th)
Women’s Title Match
Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Meiko Satomura
Jailhouse Street Fight
Tony D’Angelo vs. Dijak
