WWE NXT Review - August 30, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Grayson Waller def. Apollo Crews

Waller hasn't had a ton of direction since he wrapped up his rivalry with LA Knight earlier this year, so I'm glad this feud with Crews has corrected that. They work well together as this was a good match and Waller winning ensures it will continue. Crews was poked in defeat with Waller targeting his eye earlier on, so obviously this feud isn't over. This was a smart choice to kick off the show, even though it has nothing to do with Worlds Collide.

NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter def. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley (Non-Title); Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. Returned

Chance and Carter became champions about a month ago, but we've barely seen on them on the show since. That said, I was happy to see them back in action here. It was a nice little match while it lasted, even though there wasn't a ton to it. Chance and Carter said afterward they had no competition left, which brought out Doudrop and Nikki A.S.H. I mean, it is Worlds Collide after all, so I have no issue with them coming over from Raw to challenge for the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. I hope they can get their old names (Piper Niven and Nikki Cross) back next.

Cameron Grimes Turned Down Schism

My biggest fear with Grimes feuding with Joe Gacy was that he'd end up joining Schism due to being down on his luck. Thus, I was happy to see him turn down their offer here, likely setting up Grimes vs. Gacy for a future show. It should be well wrestled, but I can't get into this program because almost anything involving Gacy hasn't been interesting (though he plays his role well). Can we just move Grimes up to the main roster at this point?

Lash Legend and Pretty Deadly def. Fallon Henley and NXT UK Tag Team Champions Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen

The only reason Legend was involved in this match was because Pretty Deadly needed a female partner to make it a mixed tag team match. That's about it. She's still abysmal in the ring, so keeping her limited in there was wise. I enjoy Pretty Deadly, but I didn't really care about this otherwise. Gallus interfering led into the massive tag team brawl we got later on and Pretty Deadly's win justifies them being included in the tag title unification match on Sunday.

Andre Chase def. Charlie Dempsey

Dempsey is, of course, the real life son of William Regal. The resemblance is pretty clear just by looking at him. I quickly became a fan of him and his hard-hitting, technical style in NXT UK, so I was flabbergasted when he lost here, to say the least. Chase can hold his own being as experienced as he is, but as NXT's top jobber, he shouldn't be beating someone with Dempsey's potential. It was well-worked match, but the outcome was a mistake.

Zoey Stark def. Kiana James

James acknowledged in her promo backstage beforehand that Stark not only failed to win the NXT Women's Championship two weeks ago but also that the injury she suffered in that match kept her from competing in the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship Tournament that Friday on SmackDown. James is improving in the ring, but the gimmick still sucks. This was fine for what it was. Nikkita Lyons, who was supposed to team with Stark, fended off James afterward, so expect to get James vs. Lyons soon.

Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) def. Diamond Mine (Damon Kemp and NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers)

I'm surprised this match was given away without much hype. I hope there will be a rematch at some point because this was good stuff for the time given. Gallus largely bored me in NXT UK, but the change of scenery should help. Post-match, Pretty Deadly emerged along with Briggs and Jensen to turn this into a four-team brawl. It was then announced that they'll all meet in a multi-team match at Worlds Collide to unify the NXT and NXT UK tag team titles.

Ricochet Challenged NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes to an NXT North American Championship Match at Worlds Collide

Hayes had been on social media all week talking about how he didn't have an opponent at Worlds Collide. I honestly thought he'd be left off the show if Noam Dar wasn't available for the two to unify the NXT North American Championship and the NXT UK Heritage Cup Championship. Instead, we got Ricochet answering the call and that match has been made official for Sunday. The segment was solid with Hayes and Trick Williams having to carry a majority of it due to Ricochet's subpar mic skills. Seeing Ricochet back in an NXT ring will be a welcome sight.

Overall Show

I didn't tune in live because I didn't think I would miss much with it being a go-home show, but all the cool cameos from main roster talent (who were all previously on NXT, NXT UK or both) added a lot to the hype for the top title matches at Worlds Collide. Don't get me wrong, the build to this event has been incredibly rushed, but they've put together a hell of a card on paper much like AEW All Out later that same day. In other words, this edition of NXT succeed in selling me on Worlds Collide (although I was already looking forward to it). Despite the in-ring action not being the central focus (which is fine given the circumstances), all of the appearances from main roster talent made it an eventful evening.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews