Tag: Nxt Vengeance Day 2023

NXT heads to Charlotte, North Carolina tonight for its first streaming special of 2023.

The NXT Championship will be on the line as Bron Breakker and Grayson Waller face off inside of a steel cage. The steel cage stipulation was announced after Breakker and Waller’s previous title bout ended in a countout. Waller lost that match after the ropes broke on him.

Roxanne Perez will look to remain NXT Women’s Champion as she defends against both members of Toxic Attraction in a triple threat match. Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne simultaneously won a battle royal to become the number one contenders to Perez’s title.

The New Day’s NXT Tag Team titles will be up for grabs as they defend against Pretty Deadly, Gallus, and Chase U in a fatal four-way match. Wes Lee defends the NXT North American Championship against Dijak. And Fallon Henley & Kiana James challenge Katana Chance & Kayden Carter for the NXT Women’s Tag Team titles.

Plus, Apollo Crews takes on Carmelo Hayes in a two-out-of-three falls match.

Vengeance Day streams live on Peacock/WWE Network starting at 8 p.m. Eastern time tonight. There will also be a pre-show leading into the event.

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Pre-Show

– It was announced that the Steel Cage match for the NXT Championship can only be won by pinfall or submission in the ring. I’m a fan of the change.

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Main Card

– The show begins with a video package of Charlotte Flair hyping up the matches on the show, with all the people walking down a runway-type set. Because they’re in Charlotte, North Carolina, you see.

NXT North American Title Match: Wes Lee defeated Dijak to retain

An excellent, action-packed opener. A great way to kick off the show.

Dijak had a Sin City-style entrance. I wonder if Karrion Kross is upset at someone stealing his black-and-white motif. Dijak used his size advantage to knock Lee down with shoulder blocks. Lee feigned laying down for Dijak before booting him in the face. Dijak powered out of a German suplex attempt, but Lee came back with a springboard rana that sent Dijak to the floor. Dijak caught Lee on a dive and dumped him on the floor with a Death Valley Driver.

Dijak clubbered on Lee in the ring before sending him across the ring with a suplex for two. Dijak drove Lee down into his knee before flinging him over the top rope to the floor. Dijak brought Lee back into the ring, but only got a nearfall on a pin attempt. More clubbering from Dijak in the corner. Lee ducked a corner charge, sending Dijak over the top rope to the floor. Dijak got back in the ring, where Lee peppered him with shots before dropping him with a basement dropkick. A second attempt at a German was blocked, but a thrust kick helped Lee get Dijak up for the German for a nearfall.

Dijak and Lee ended up on the apron, where Lee sent Dijak on the apron with a backdrop. Lee hit a spinning Space Flying Tiger Drop to massive NXT chants. Lee went for his springboard kick, but was caught in Feast Your Eyes position. Lee reversed it into a poisonrana, then followed it with a Michinoku Driver for two.

Dijak avoided a 450 and caught Lee on a springboard, hitting a massive chokeslam for two. Dijak locked on a modified Crossface Chickenwing. Lee tried to roll out, but Dijak held on and got the hooks in. Lee almost faded but fought back to his feet. Dijak brought him into Feast Your Eyes position, but Lee reversed it into a rollup for two. Lee hit some big strikes, but Dijak took him down with a big boot for two. Dijak hit a superkick and a lariat for another nearfall. Somewhere in this madness, we got a closeup shot of Dijak’s gnarly dislocated finger.

Dijak brought Lee to the top rope for a powerbomb, but Lee reversed it into a rana that dropped Dijak on his head. Lee hit a Spiral Tap for an incredibly close nearfall. Lee went for a suicide dive, but Dijak threw him into the barricade. Dijak put Lee in a rolling chair at ringside and restrained him to it with a broom. Dijak went up to the top and hit a moonsault, but it was on Tony D’Angelo and Stacks, who had pushed Lee out of the way. Dijak got superkicked out of the air by Lee, who followed it with the handspring Pele Kick to win and retain the title.

– McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. They said nothing of note.

NXT Women’s Tag Team Title Match: Fallon Henley & Kiana James (w/ Brooks Jensen & Josh Briggs) defeated Katana Chance & Kayden Carter to win the titles

There were a lot of spots here, but nothing connecting them together. It was impressive athletically, but as a match, it wasn’t anything special.

Carter and James started. After some frivolity with Jensen at ringside, Carter and Chance laid out James with a double-team move. James and Henley had some miscommunication but were able to drop the champions with dual clotheslines. Carter and Chance hit a double-team move on Henley, but James tagged in and dropped Chance with a backbreaker.

Henley tagged in and hit a hairmare for a nearfall. Henley worked over Chance for a while before Carter snuck in a tag. Carter ran wild, dropping Henley with a dropkick in the ropes. Carter boosted Chance over her head to hit a crossbody on both challengers. James tagged in but got caught with a Carter-assisted rana from Chance. James cut her off with a spinebuster for a nearfall. James got her knees up on a double-team moonsault before tagging Henley in. Henley and James hit an assisted Michinoku Driver for a nearfall.

Carter took James out with a dive to the floor. Henley got caught in the champions corner, where Chance hit a super Frankensteiner off of Carter’s shoulders for two. The champions went for their finisher, but James shoved Chance off of the top rope to the floor. Henley rolled up Carter, and with James holding Carter’s feet down from outside the ring, got the three count to win the titles.

– At the Vengeance Day watch party, Drew Gulak and Hank Walker talked about the show. Gulak wanted Walker to get actual wrestling gear now that he’s, you know, a wrestler.

– Lyra Valkyria cut a promo on Cora Jade. She says that Jade is two-faced, since Jade called her out for a match on NXT, then backed out of it. She issued an open challenge for NXT this Tuesday.

Two Out of Three Falls: Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) defeated Apollo Crews 2-0

This was so disappointing. The match never got out of first gear, and the crowd never really got into it. It was a long match that only peaked at OK.

Williams gave Hayes a special introduction, listing all of his accomplishments in NXT so far. Crews also got a special entrance, running through his WWE career up to this point. They’re giving this one a real big-match feeling here.

The men chain wrestle to a stalemate to start. Hayes cut off a back-and-forth with a slap, but Crews knocked him down with his own slap. Both men countered each other’s dropkick attempts before Crews dropkicked Hayes out of the air on a springboard. Crews sent Hayes hard into the buckles sternum first. A backbreaker from Crews led to a German suplex attempt, but Hayes cut him off. Crews caught Hayes on a springboard and got his German suplex.

Hayes and Crews both went for dives to the floor, ending with Crews dropping Hayes with a clothesline on the floor. Crews hit a moonsault off the apron to Hayes on the floor. Back in the ring, a delayed vertical suplex got a nearfall for Crews. Hayes countered a corner charge from Crews, sending him over the ropes and catching him with a stunner on the way down. Williams has a chair on the floor, but he’s only menacing Crews with it at the moment.

Hayes clubbered on Crews before getting two on a cover. Hayes worked over Crews before hitting him with a hotshot over the ropes for a nearfall. Crews fought back before Hayes dropped him with a short-arm clothesline. Hayes talked trash, but Crews hit a pair of Germans and a big back body drop. Crews fired up, laying Hayes out with clotheslines and a big splash. Hayes cut him off for a moment, but Crews caught him on the apron with a big kick to the face. Crews powered Hayes into the ring with a superplex for a nearfall.

Williams is at ringside praying for a comeback from Hayes, and his prayer got answered when Hayes hit a La Mistica for a nearfall. An elevated cutter got two before Hayes locked in a Crossface. Crews tapped out, giving Hayes the first fall.

They trade shots to start the second fall. Crews popped off a trio of Germans before hitting a standing shooting star press for a nearfall. Hayes cut Crews off on the top rope, hitting the Fadeaway leg drop for a nearfall. Crews rebounded with a Destroyer-style DDT for two. Both men got up to the top rope before they knocked each other to the floor. Hayes shoved Crews down to try and win by countout, but Crews beat the count. Crews caught Hayes with a jumping knee and an Angle Slam. Hayes hit a codebreaker before Crews came back with a pop-up Death Valley Driver.

Williams got himself involved by taking a turnbuckle pad off of one corner and letting Hayes know about it. Crews fired up and sent Hayes into the buckle himself. Williams tried using a chair before Dabba Kato, Crews’ former heater, took him out of the equation. Somehow, Hayes got the advantage out of this and hit the diving leg drop to win in two straight falls.

After the match, Dabba Kato laid out Crews with a chokebomb on a chair. Why try to help him win the match then? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

– Valentina Feroz accepted Lyra Valkyria’s challenge for NXT this week.

– The new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Kiana James and Fallon Henley celebrated their win with Jensen and Briggs.

– NXT Stand and Deliver was announced for Saturday, April 1^st.

NXT Tag Team Title Match: Gallus defeated The New Day, Pretty Deadly, & Chase U to win the titles

This was fun and chaotic, as to be expected in these multi-man matches. Gallus winning was a shocker as they aren’t what you would call, over. But they performed well here, as did all eight men in the match.

Two legal men at a time in this one, as Kingston started with Prince. Woods blind-tagged in and chopped Prince down before sending him to the floor. Wilson ended up on Prince’s shoulders, leading to Kingston dropkicking Prince. Thea Hail shouted them both down, leading to a Woods dropkick on both men.

Chase U tagged in, laying out Woods with a double team. Gallus got in and worked over Wilson, who had tagged in earlier. To save myself some typing, there’s been a lot of quick tags between teams. Eventually, Pretty Deadly isolated Woods in their corner of the ring. After a few minutes, Kingston got the hot tag and ran wild on Pretty Deadly. He hit a Boom Drop on them and an interfering Coffey. Kingston hit an SOS on Wilson for a nearfall.

A big strike train left Pretty Deadly alone with Kingston. They hit a tag team gutbuster for a nearfall. Kingston fought them off before tagging Woods in. New Day hit their finisher before everyone else broke up that pin attempt. A brawl broke out on the floor as Kingston and Chase fought on the top rope. Chase sent Kingston into the pile off the top rope. Wilson cut Chase off, but Chase got the upper hand and superplexed him into everyone else on the floor.

Gallus tried to put Chase through the table, but Hudson saved his partner and fought them off. Pretty Deadly cut him off and tried to suplex him through the table, but Hudson fought them off. Pretty Deadly sent him into the ring before putting the table cover back on the table to big heat. Hudson fired up and took out Pretty Deadly, but Gallus got their hands on Hudson and sent him through the announce table.

Gallus isolated the hometown hero Chase, but Chase was able to get Wolfgang out of the equation and hit the Chase U stomps on Coffey. A crossbody off the top rope got a nearfall. Chase locked on a Figure Four in the center of the ring, but Wolfgang hit a Swanton to cut him off. The tag team powerslam from Gallus only got two. Kingston cut off another tag move, but Pretty Deadly caught him on a dive and hit Spilled Milk on the floor. Woods got isolated by Gallus, who hit their tag team powerslam for the win and the titles.

NXT Women’s Title: Roxanne Perez defeated Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne to retain

This was a standard issue WWE triple-threat match. The crowd was into it though, and the women worked hard.

Dolin and Jayne came out together. They double-teamed Perez to start off. Perez fought them off momentarily, but Jayne cut her off by sending her into the ropes. A miscommunication gave Perez an opening to hit a double lucha armdrag before hitting Dolin with a dive to the floor. Jayne took Dolin out with a cannonball, which allowed Perez to get Jayne by herself.

Perez locked Jayne in a crossface, but Jayne got out and laid in some heavy strikes for a nearfall. Dolin yanked Jayne out of the ring and the two argued. Dolin tried to bargain a truce, but yanked Jayne in the way of a Perez dropkick. Dolin took control by sending Perez into the barricade. An STO into the apron and a side suplex got Dolin a nearfall that got broken up by Jayne. The two started fighting each other, which allowed Perez to hit a crossbody onto both of them.

Perez ran wild on both women, dropping them with a legsweep/DDT combination for a nearfall on both of them. Jayne caught Perez and tied her in the tree of woe on top of Dolin. She hit a cannonball on both women, then followed it with a running knee to Perez. Dolin broke up the cover, and the two teammates brawled with Jayne getting the better of it. Perez got Pop Rocks countered by Dolin into an STO. Dolin hit a suplex with a bridge before Jayne broke it up.

Dueling chants for Dolin and Perez as all three traded shots. Dolin and Jayne superkicked Perez, then headbutted each other for a double nearfall. Dolin and Jayne sent Perez to the floor and pulled out a table. Perez fought out, hitting Pop Rocks to Dolin on the floor. Jayne and Perez ended up on the top rope. Dolin tried getting involved, but Perez booted her through the table. Perez hit Jayne with Pop Rocks off of the top rope to win and retain the title.

NXT Title Steel Cage Match: Bron Breakker defeated Grayson Waller

I never understood why this match was a cage match, and in the end, it didn’t really need to be. This match never got out of the first gear, as is commonplace for Breakker’s main events. The crowd wasn’t into this one, and it never felt like Waller had a chance to win. A main event that left me feeling empty.

This match can only end by pinfall or submission in the ring. Waller came out with a train of beautiful women and a “golden shoey,” a shoe that he planned to have a celebratory drink out of when he won in traditional Australian fashion. Waller jumped Breakker before he got in the cage. Waller dodged a Breakker spear, but Breakker stopped short of the barricade and clotheslined a prematurely celebrating Waller. Breakker sent the door into Waller’s face before getting them both in the ring.

Breakker ran wild, bouncing off the ropes and the cage before dropping Waller with a big clothesline. Breakker hit a delayed vertical suplex before hitting a standing moonsault. Waller got out of a powerslam and played keep-away before landing a satellite DDT for a nearfall. Waller worked over Breakker, but Breakker caught him with a belly-to-belly suplex. Breakker hit Waller with another powerslam before hitting the top rope bulldog.

Breakker went to wrap things up with a spear, but Waller rolled to the apron. Waller dodged a Breakker spear, sending Breakker into the cage head first. Waller laid in punches before sending Breakker into the cage again for a nearfall. Waller hit a crossbody on Breakker against the cage, but Breakker caught him on a second attempt. Waller fought out and sent Breakker into the cage before hitting a diving Unprettier for a nearfall.

Waller went to the top rope, but Breakker followed him up and hit a top rope Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Breakker came off the top rope, but Waller caught him with a jumping knee. Waller hit the crossover elbow off the top, but only got two. Waller tangled Breakker in the ropes Andre The Giant-style and laid in the shots to Breakker.

Waller tackled Breakker twice, but Breaker fired up and untangled himself before pinballing Waller all over the cage. Breakker press-slammed Waller into the cage and set up for the spear, but Waller avoided it and hit a low blow. Waller hit his rolling Stunner but only got a two count. Waller went to the top of the cage for a viral moment, but Breakker met him at the top and superplexed him all the way down. Breakker hit the spear and pulled the straps down. Breakker told Waller off for talking trash before hitting a massive second spear for the win.

Post-match, Carmelo Hayes came out and looked down Breakker from the ramp as the show went off the air.