WWE NXT Review - April 11, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dragon Lee, JD McDonagh and Grayson Waller Confronted NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes

Hayes did a nice job addressing Bron Breakker's attack on him last week and vowing revenge. Instead of getting Breakker, he was interrupted by three other men who want the next shot at the NXT Championship to set up the number one contender's Fatal 4-Way match for later in the night. This was a very formulaic segment, but it accomplished what it needed to and everyone played their roles well.

NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Isla Dawn and Alba Fyre def. Fallon Henley and Kiana James

This was a rematch from Stand & Deliver. I haven't cared about this nonsense with Henley, James, Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen since it started, so I was glad Henley and James lost here so we can move on from them in the title picture (not to mention Dawn and Fyre have gelled better as a team than I originally expected). There wasn't much to the match, but Briggs trying to get Henley to cheat was the focal point. We're about to get a civil war with Jensen and James against Briggs and Henley, which means this storyline will be dragged out even further. Ugh.

Bron Breakker Crashed Chase U's MVP Ceremony for Duke Hudson

Hudson was awarded an MVP trophy by Chase U for his actions at Stand & Deliver, and the crowd ate it up. Listen, I've never been the biggest fan of Chase U, but there can be no denying that they're over with the audience. Breakker cemented his heel status by interrupting them and attacking Andre Chase, leaving Hudson to take his spot in the number one contender's Fatal 4-Way instead. Hudson running off with the trophy instead of aiding Chase was interesting, so perhaps there's still a chance he could turn on the group.

Eddy Thorpe def. Javier Bernal

The timing of Thorpe's in-ring debut on NXT TV happening on the final NXT before Stand & Deliver was unfortunate because it was quickly overshadowed by everything going on WrestleMania weekend, so I'm glad they followed up quickly with him here. Bernal is a good pest heel for any babyface on the rise to beat and I thought Thorpe was impressive again. Damon Kemp showing up at ringside indicates he'll likely be Thorpe's first feud (or at least next opponent), which I'm in favor of.

Tiffany Stratton def. Sol Ruca

This will be a match people look at years down the line as being significant because both of these women have the potential to be cornerstones of the main roster women's division down the line. Granted, I wasn't into the acrobatics act early on (it reminded me of some of the stuff we see in AEW), but it was a quality contest otherwise and they made the most of their time. Stratton is obviously headed for an NXT Women's Championship opportunity, so this was a momentum-building win for here.

Lyra Valkyria Interrupted Cora Jade

Jade was doing great work before she disappeared from NXT TV a few months ago and was just starting a storyline with Valkyria, so I'm happy they're picking up where they left off as seen in this segment. Jade has come a long way on the mic and she did a strong job running down everyone in the women's division. That also plants the seeds for future feuds for her. Now that they're both heel, maybe we can see her and Breakker become a couple on screen as they are in real life eventually?

Ilja Dragunov def. Von Wagner

Per the stipulation, Wagner has now lost Robert Stone's managerial services. It sure seems like he's fallen out of favor with NXT officials based on his string of losses dating back to last year, but it's also possible it's part of a storyline to turn him face or repackage him. Wagner has improved from where he was when NXT 2.0 launched, but I still don't care about the guy. Dragunov vs. Wagner was perfectly passable while it lasted. Dijak confronted Dragunov afterward and you can sign me the hell up for that.

Joe Coffey def. Tank Ledger

Ledger is a product of WWE's Next In Line program, which I've seen firsthand and the company is super determined to ensure it's a success. Ledger can be one of those success stories if he continues to make strides because I thought he did well here. He's had experience on Level Up in recent months, so he didn't come into this contest completely cold. It was smart to put him with a seasoned veteran like Coffey in his debut and he definitely gained something in defeat.

Grayson Waller def. Duke Hudson, JD McDonagh and Dragon Lee in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

All four of these guys are talented, so as you'd probably expect, this was an entertaining main event. Lee shined in the same way he did at Stand & Deliver and I like that story that he could have won had it not been for Waller stealing the pin. Waller is the perfect person for Hayes to face in his first defense because it's clear to me that Waller is headed to Raw or SmackDown in the upcoming WWE Draft and this allows him to put over one more person on his way out.

Overall Show

Obviously, this wasn't as big or as exciting of an episode as we got last week, but feuds were furthered and storylines were progressed. All in all, it was still a solid show. Before Battleground later next month, we have Spring Breakin' to look forward to in two weeks. The purpose of this show was to set up stuff for next week as well as Spring Breakin', and I thought they did an effective job of that.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews