WWE NXT Review – December 26, 2023
All Or Nothing Tag Team Match
Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson) vs. OTM (Lucien Price & Bronco Nima)
Lucien Price shows off his power early on against Andre Chase before Chase rallied back with dropkicks then Duke Hudson tags in for some tandem axe handle strikes before Price regained control with gut punches.
Hudson came back with short arm shoulder tackles on Price then Chase U traded quick tags to keep the numbers advantage and isolate price then Bronco Nima tags in and works on Chase with boots and a rope hung Bronco Buster.
OTM cuts the ring in half on Chase then Chase used a judo roll to escape the isolation and bring in Hudson for the hot tag. Hudson hits Price with a Yakuza Kick then hits Nima with a Bionic Elbow. Hudson gave Price a Death Valley Driver on top of Nima.
Hudson tossed in Scrypts when he went for the distraction as Chase tags himself in and missed a dive as Price hits Chase with a superkick.
OTM hits Chase with an assisted spinebuster to get the win.
Winners: OTM
Vic Joseph sends the show to the 1st NXT End Of The Year awards. Creed Brothers won Tag Team Of The Year, Tiffany Stratton won Female Star Of The Year & NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov won Male Superstar Of The Year.
Backstage Carmelo Hayes & Trick Williams were talking as they were both worried about Ilja Dragunov getting injured by Ridge Holland. Trick said he’s considering delaying his NXT Title shot to get Dragunov at 100%. Hayes noted that several years from now people won’t be asking Williams if he beat Dragunov at 100% just that Trick won the NXT Title. Hayes brought up how Lebron James won the NBA Title in the Covid bubble and no one talked about it as a tainted victory. Hayes noted that Williams needs to take advantage of the situation.
Eddy Thorpe was shown heading to the Performance Center.
Heritage Cup Title Match
Noam Dar (c) vs. Josh Briggs
Round 1
Josh Briggs with a shove then Noam Dar asked for a test of strength but Briggs reached higher than Dar could reach then Dar hits Briggs with Muay Thai clinch knees.
Briggs tossed Dar away as Dar kept his distance and worked on Briggs with footsies before Briggs continued to come back with power moves.
Briggs hits Dar with a body slam and standing splash for a near fall then Dar puts Briggs in a Half Crab.
Briggs hits Dar with a Pounce for a near fall as the clock ran out before Briggs can hit Dar with a powerbomb.
Round 2
Briggs hits Dar with a sidewalk slam then Dar puts Briggs in a Guillotine Choke but Briggs powers out.
Dar then put Briggs in a Triangle but Briggs escaped by deadlifting Dar away before Briggs hits Dar with Clothesline From Hell to get the win.
Briggs 1-0
Round 3
Round 3 starts during the break.
After the break Dar spiked Briggs with a DDT on the apron then hits Briggs with Nova Roller at ringside as the clock ran out.
Round 4
Dar works on Josh with a series of pump kicks then hits Briggs with a diving punch for a near fall before Dar hits Briggs with a leg lariat for a near fall.
Dar paintbrushes Briggs’ face with slaps before Briggs came back with a big boot and Chokeslam for a near fall.
Dar trips up Briggs and gave Briggs’ leg a double stomp then hits Judas Effect and puts Briggs in a kneebar. Briggs reversed the pressure and escaped with clubbing blows.
Briggs works on Dar with elbows then Briggs gave Dar a right hand punch before Lash Legend hits Briggs with a bucket while the referee was distracted as Dar got a two count.
The rest of Meta 4 got on the apron for some distractions as the referee turned around and saw Briggs hits Dar with the bucket & calls for the bell.
Winner By DQ & Still Heritage Cup Champion: Noam Dar (R4) (STILL CHAMPION!!!!) (Match automatically ends in a DQ)
Axiom & Nathan Frazer were disappointed backstage at not winning Male Star Of The Year. Frazer then said he’s glad that Bron Breakker didn’t win. Breakker walks up on Frazer talking crap about Breakker. Frazer said he’s only talking crap because he’s willing to say it in peoples faces. Frazer challenged Breakker to a match. Breakker said be careful what you wish for. After Breakker left Frazer said Axiom could have warned him. Axiom said he was because he did a wink.
Cora Jade vs. Karmen Petrovic
Cora Jade shoves around Karmen a bit. Karmen came back with a rising back kick off a short arm before Petrovic got a two count off a sunset flip.
Jade came back with a rising knee in the corner then hits Petrovic with a draping running elbow for a near fall then she stomped a mudhole in Petrovic in the corner.
Jade works on Petrovic with some offense then does some trash talk before she missed a springboard stomp then Petrovic came back with a kick and superman forearms.
Karmen hits Jade with a hanging double kick and Essence Of The Dragon King Kick for a near fall then hits a Double Arm DDT for the win.
Winner: Cora Jade
After the match Jade was about to attack Petrovic but Gigi Dolin ran out to run off Jade.
Dijak was shown arriving at the Performance Center.
Semi Final Match Of The 2023 Breakout Tournament
Riley Osborne vs. Lexis King
Riley Osborne with some wrist holds and cartwheels on Lexis King before Lexis pushed Riley on the ropes for the break.
Trey Bearhill made his entrance to watch the match on a chair at ringside.
King trips Osborne off the ropes and hit him with a springboard stomp for a two count then puts Osborne in a Half Crab but he escaped off the cheers from Chase U.
Osborne hits King with a leg lariat and standing Red Arrow for a near fall before both men traded power slaps to the chest.
King hits Osborne with a backbreaker and straitjacket backstabber for a near fall then both men brawled to the top rope.
Bearhill got to his feet and distracted King by slapping the chair so Osborne shoved King off the top rope and hits him with a Shooting Star Press for the victory.
Winner: Riley Osborne (3:43)
Rate: 4
After the match Bearhill confronted King in the ring and hits him with a slap to the chest. Bearhill then kept scratching King in the back before King ran off in fear of Bearhill.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov from No Mercy was voted as Match Of The Year, Undertaker appearing on NXT to attack Bron Breakker was voted as Moment Of The Year.
Kelly Kincaid asked Ava about a Ilja Dragunov medical update. Ava said nobody knows but Dragunov is arriving to NXT this week to give us an update as to if he can compete at New Years Evil.
Bron Breakker vs. Nathan Frazer
Bron Breakker tossed away Nathan Frazer early on before Frazer stops on a dime to throw off Breakker but Breakker fought through with a lariat as Frazer rested a bit to come up with a game plan.
Frazer took down Bron with a side headlock takedown before Breakker hits Frazer with a backbreaker on the apron to break the hold before Frazer did a flip bump off a whip.
Breakker mocked Frazer with push ups then Breakker tackled Frazer several times into the corner.
Frazer ran circles around Breakker and hits him with a dropkick as we go to a break.
After the break Breakker works on Frazer with ground and pound and a gutbuster for a near fall before Breakker launched Frazer with a hip toss.
Frazer rallied back with right hands before Breakker ends that rally by turning Nathan inside out with a belly 2 belly suplex. Breakker works on Frazer with a bow & arrow stretch.
Frazer escaped with a jawbreaker but Breakker didn’t relent and kept with the boots then Frazer did a corkscrew to get to his feet and nail Breakker with a leg lariat.
Frazer rallied back with right hands. Nathan dumped Breakker to ringside to avoid a spear before Frazer hits Breakker with a suicide dive then dropkicks Breakker into the steel steps.
Breakker did a powerslam reversal off Frazer’s crossbody for a near fall before Frazer blocks a spear with a superkick for a near fall.
Breakker avoided a Phoenix Splash and hits Frazer with a Spear for the victory.
Winner: Bron Breakker
No Catch Quarter Crew were warming up backstage & each man gave a bit of trash talk before Drew Gulak then challenged North American Champion Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde to a 6 Man Tag Team match at New Years Evil.
Brooks Jensen & Fallon Henley were consoling Josh Briggs on his loss. Jensen said he understands that Briggs wants to be a singles wrestler and thanks Briggs for supporting him when he started in NXT. Jensen said he also supports that Henley is spreading her wings too. Briggs said I love you guys. Henley wondered if it was the end of the road for them. Briggs led them in a fist bump and told them they should do this 1 more time. After Briggs & Henley left Jensen held out his fist and hung his head a bit as we go to a break.
After the break Ariana Grace shows up to Ava to snitch on Roxanne Perez attacking her. She said thankfully she has good bone structure to prevent a face injury. Grace said that Perez should enlist in Anger Management. Ava ended up noting that Perez requested a match against Grace at New Years Evil. Grace said the request of course, was rejected? Ava said the match wasn’t rejected and will happen next week.
Sarah Schreiber conducted a sit down interview backstage with Women’s Champion Lyra Valkyria & Blair Davenport. Schreiber asked both women why it took so long for them to face each other. Davenport said Valkyria blew out her knee in the UK and has been ducking out on her. Valkyria said she hasn’t been ducking and beat Becky Lynch for the Women’s Title while Davenport is jumping people in the parking lot.
Davenport said she’s been jumping people to catch people’s attention with her attacks while main roster stars are putting Valkyria on a pedestal. Valkyria said her attacks backfired because people will be coming for revenge due to Davenport acting like a coward. Davenport said she’s not a coward for going through several women in the Iron Survivor. Valkyria said that there’s a difference between Davenport & her, Davenport wants to be called champion while Lyra wants to be the very best before both women went face 2 face.
Semi Final Match Of The 2023 Breakout Tournament
Oba Femi vs. Tavion Heights
Match starts off with a lock up before Oba Femi used his weight to block a suplex and hits Tavion Heights with a back elbow then Heights hits Femi with a reverse X Factor.
Femi came back with overhead blows and a knee drop for a near fall then hits Heights with a backbreaker for a near fall.
Femi works on Heights with offense then he tossed Heights like a boulder after Heights tried to rally back but he hits Heights with a running uppercut for a near fall.
Heights puts Femi in a fireman carry and hits him with a Death Valley Driver followed by a German suplex then Heights gave Femi a belly 2 belly.
Tavion tossed Femi back in the ring & Femi hits a lariat then connects with a Powerbomb for the victory.
Winner: Oba Femi (4:10) (He will face Osborne in the Finals)
Rate: 5
After the match Riley Osborne & Oba Femi faced off.
Kelly Kincaid caught up with Ilja Dragunov in the parking lot who was sporting a neck brace. Dragunov said he’s looking for Trick Williams.
After the break we see a replay aired of Ridge Holland dropping Ilja Dragunov on his neck last week.
A tweet aired of Ridge Holland apologizing to Ilja Dragunov.
A Ridge Holland exclusive interview was advertised for next week.
Joe Gacy vs. Joe Coffey
Joe Gacy & Joe Coffey traded right hands before Gacy managed to drop Coffey and hits him with a senton then Gacy walks up to Vic Joseph to say random things.
Coffey hits Gacy with a suicide dive and told the announce team to remember him.
Coffey hits Gacy with a backbreaker then Coffey hits Gacy with a twisting Vader Bomb for a near fall before Gacy rallied back with a hands.
Gacy hits Coffey with a Saito Suplex then follows up with a backdrop before he hits Coffey with a cannonball dive at ringside then Gacy hits Coffey with a Uranage.
Gallus got on the ropes for the distraction but Hank Walker & Tank Ledger ran out to brawl with Gallus to the back. Coffey hits Gacy with a flying knife chop.
Gacy ducked Coffey’s discus lariat and hits him with The Upside Down for the win.
Winner: Joe Gacy
Kelly Kincaid interviewed Dragon Lee, Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde & they accepted Drew Gulak’s challenge. Lee said they are going to prove that high flying is better than the ground game. Elektra Lopez & Lola Vice shows up. Del Toro & Wilde were happy to see her. Lopez said she was also there to introduce them to her current tag partner Lola Vice.
Eddy Thorpe was warming up backstage. Dijak was shadowboxing at another part of backstage.
NXT Underground Match
Eddy Thorpe vs. Dijak
Eddy Thorpe went for an early triangle then Thorpe hits Dijak with a kick combination and Saito Suplex before Dijak blocks an elbow drop with a choke.
Dijak stops another Triangle Attempt with a chokeslam then tossed Thorpe into the ring post heading into a break.
After the break Dijak hits Thorpe with a flip dive at ringside then Thorpe hulked up to block a choke. Thorpe hit Dijak with a boot and German suplex before Dijak fended back Thorpe with elbows and escaped a Saito Suplex.
Thorpe hits Dijak with a brainbuster then Dijak got to his feet and broke a Rear Naked Choke by slamming Thorpe to the mat.
Dijak created some separation and hits Thorpe with a Cyclone Boot then hits Thorpe with a 2nd Cyclone Boot before Thorpe blocks a 3rd boot with a enzuigiri before Dijak rolls out of a German suplex to ringside.
Dijak hits Thorpe with Feast Your Eyes before he randomly attacked developmental wrestlers. Thorpe recovers and backdrops Dijak into the apron. As he’s been doing, Dijak undid his belt and wrapped it around his hand. This was the beat that Dijak attacked Eddy’s tree with. Thorpe blocked a belt punch and hit Dijak with an Impaler DDT.
Thorpe got Dijak’s belt and hits Dijak with hit to avenge his tree then puts Dijak in a Rear Naked Choke but Dijak escaped by using the ring post to toss Thorpe into.
Thorpe reversed a powerbomb with a Frankensteiner then hits Dijak with an elbow drop at ringside then hits Dijak with Manifest Destiny. Dijak told the ref that he wasn’t quitting.
Thorpe went back to the rear naked choke while Dijak was standing as Thorpe wouldn’t let go after Dijak kept slamming him around at ringside.
Dijak kept his consciousness and drags Thorpe to the top of steps but Dijak turns around and started to fade as the referee declared that Dijak was still conscious.
Thorpe hits Dijak with Manifest Destiny through the announce table & Dijak was knocked out.
Winner By Knockout: Eddy Thorpe
We go to a contract signing between NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov & Trick Williams & Williams noted that he’s not going to hold back even if Dragunov is injured. Williams signs the contract He said he’s willing to delay the match to wait for Dragunov to be 100%. Dragunov said unfortunately nothing or no one will stop him. Dragunov took the neck brace off and signed the contract then both men shook hands to close out the final NXT of 2023.
Finals (Jan 2nd)
Riley Osborne vs. Oba Femi
New Years Evil Card (Jan 2nd)
Women’s Title Match
Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Blair Davenport
NXT Title Match
Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams
Ranch Hand Or Servant For A Day Match
Tiffany Stratton vs. Fallon Henley
Finals Of The 2023/2024 Breakout Tournament
Riley Osborne vs. Oba Femi
6 Man Tag Team Match
North American Champion Dragon Lee & Latino World Order (Cruz Del Toro & Joaquin Wilde) vs. No Catch Quarter Crew (Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp & Myles Borne)
Roxanne Perez vs. Arianna Grace
