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WWE NXT Review - December 12, 2023

12/12/2023

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By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria and Nikkita Lyons Brawled with Cora Jade and Blair Davenport

Jade definitely came off better here than she did with the promo she cut in the backstage segment at Deadline. Her mic work can be hit or miss, but I'm glad she's back after a long layoff. Davenport and Valkyria were also good in their respective roles while Lyons' mic work was kept short and sweet. This was a simple segment to start the show and set up the tag team match for later in the night.

Josh Briggs, Brooks Jensen and Fallon Henley def. The Meta-Four (NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar, Oro Mensah and Lash Legend)

Legend had a standout showing in the women's Iron Survivor Challenge match and I'm glad that continued here. Her first two years in NXT haven't been the smoothest, but it appears she's finally improving and that's an encouraging sign for her future. Meta-Four does nothing for me, but this was a nicely-paced match that the crowd was into. Briggs pinning Dar should earn him a shot at Dar's NXT Heritage Cup Championship.

Oba Femi def. Myles Borne in an NXT Men's Breakout Tournament Quarterfinal Match

All of the tournament participants were introduced beforehand, but Lexis King attacked Trey Bearhill was subsequently announced as his replacement. Way to reward bad behavior! The match itself was fine for what it was. Borne has been around for a long time now but really hasn't had much of a chance to "break out" yet, whereas Femi formally debuted on NXT TV back in the spring and never appeared again. Hopefully that won't be the case this time.

NXT North American Champion Dragon Lee def. Tyler Bate

This was an open challenge. With rumors running rampant regarding a potential main roster call-up for Bate, it will be interesting to see if this ends up being his swan song from NXT. As you'd expect from them, this was a very fun match that could've been even better with more time. Drew Gulak's group confronted Lee backstage later on, so one of them will challenge Lee for the title on next week's show.

Eddy Thorpe def. Dijak by Disqualification

Any momentum Thorpe had earlier this year is completely gone and I'm not sure beating Dijak (who the crowd has come to respect) at this point will be enough for him to fully rebound. He disappeared from television following his last loss to Dijak and got booed at Deadline for costing Dijak the win. This was brief and was designed to further the feud between the two by putting more heat on Dijak. The turnbuckle being destroyed was something different at least.

Riley Osborne def. Keanu Carver in an NXT Men's Breakout Tournament Quarterfinal Match

Keanu Carver is a badass name (obviously because it sounds similar to Keanu Reeves) and he showed signs of potential here. Osborne sold his offense well and they made the most of the time they had, but Osborne was the better choice to advance. Aside from King, he's the most experienced person in the tournament having come from the independent scene and he's gotten off to a strong start on Level Up.

Cora Jade and Blair Davenport def. NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyia and Nikkita Lyons

This was a well-worked tag team match to preview some matchups we'll have coming up between the four. Jade pinning Valkyria is a nice boost for her, but it is funny that Davenport didn't pin the champ considering she'll be challenging for the NXT Women's Championship first at New Year's Evil. Tatum Paxley attempted to console Valkyria afterward, so it looks like she'll be her stalker going forward.

Carmelo Hayes Confronted NXT Champion Ilja Dragaunov and Trick Williams

Williams and Dragunov were having a quality verbal exchange hyping their upcoming NXT Championship clash at New Year's Evil when Hayes showed up to accuse Dragunov of being the one who attacked Williams two months ago. Needless to say, no one should be buying his B.S. and thankfully the crowd was onto him, but you know Williams will believe him to a certain extent before Hayes costs him the NXT title. It was a solid segment that accomplished what it needed to.

Overall Show

The stage is set for New Year's Evil as well as next week's show, which I believe is being taped tonight with everyone on the roster being granted next week off for the holidays. Maybe there's a show on December 26th, but I assume that will be a "best of" show to close out the year. All in all, this was an enjoyable edition of NXT with some new blood being incorporated into the mix as the brand hits the reset button coming out of Deadline.
SEE MORE: NXT Reviews
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