WWE NXT: New Year's Evil Review - January 2, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria def. Blair Davenport

This was a good match and they worked well together, but I don't know if anyone actually saw Davenport as a legitimate threat to Valkyria, especially after Cora Jade was teased as a potential challenger last month. I like Davenport, but she feels like a stepping stone for the division as she'll feud with Nikkita Lyons next and I assume she'll lose that feud, too. Lola Vice attempted to cash in her contract for a title shot afterward only to be thwarted by Tatum Paxley, who has been obsessed with Valkyria as of late.

The LWO (Cruz Del Toro, Joaquin Wilde and Carlito) def. No Quarter Catch Crew (Drew Gulak, Damon Kemp and Myles Borne)

Dragon Lee was scheduled to team with LWO here, but apparently he had a visa issue and wasn't able to appear. Carlito filling in for him was a pleasant surprise as we haven't seen Carlito on WWE TV since he was attacked by Santos Escobar right before Survivor Series. I thought the returning Andrade was a possibility, but they might be saving that for the Royal Rumble. This was a very fun match and that huge dive from Wilde was, well, wild. Seriously, seek it out if you missed it.

Arianna Grace def. Roxanne Perez by Disqualification

Technically, Perez won initially, but she defied the referee by continuing to attack Grace post-match, so the referee reversed the decision and awarded Grace the win. That would count as a disqualification, right? Either way, this was nice progression for Perez's character. She's been building more and more frustration over the past few months and she's clearly headed for a heel turn. It reminds me a lot of the character change AJ Lee underwent once upon a time.

Fallon Henley def. Tiffany Stratton

Henley would have had to become Stratton's servant if she lost, but because she won, Stratton will now have to work for her on her farm. Usually the heel wins this sort of stuff, but Stratton working for Henley has the potential to be entertaining. It'll also keep Stratton busy ahead of an inevitable main roster call-up. This was the match I was hoping we'd see from them and I'm glad they got an ample amount of time. Both women have improved tremendously in all areas over the last year.

Oba Femi def. Riley Osborne in the Finals of the NXT Men's Breakout Tournament

NXT has to cool it with all of the tournaments. We got a women's Breakout Tournament no more than a month or two ago, the men's one wrapped up here, and the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicks off next week. I feel like I'm watching AEW in that respect (though they need to do more Battle Royals to really catch up to them). That stuff aside, this was better than I thought it would be. They had quality chemistry together and Osborne came close to winning before Femi put him away. Both guys have potential, but Femi could be the big star that they get behind. I just wouldn't rush him into a title match anytime soon because he's definitely not ready for that yet.

Trick William def. Grayson Waller in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

Okay, so Williams vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship was slated to main event this show, but we found out early on in the episode that Dragunov still wasn't cleared following the injury angle he was involved in two weeks ago. Assuming he isn't legitimately hurt, that's a pretty lame bait-and-switch. I understand they're probably saving Dragunov vs. Williams for Vengeance Day, but they shouldn't have advertised it up until showtime. Williams vs. Waller was a well-worked replacement match and Carmelo Hayes having Williams put his title shot on the line made more it meaningful along with progressing the story with Williams and Hayes.

Overall Show

I didn't mention it above, but Sarah Schreiber conducted a sit-down interview with Ridge Holland in the back that was actually very well done. I wasn't a fan of the angle that did with him and Dragunov two weeks ago, but I liked they they built sympathy for Holland. NXT might be the best place for him at this point. The rest of the show was decent, but not getting the NXT title main event we were promised hurt the overall episode to me. I understand they're saving the bigger matches for Vengeance Day next month, and New Year's Evil had its moments, but I was hoping for a bit better.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews