WWE NXT Review - December 19, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Fallon Henley def. Tiffany Stratton

I assumed Stratton would get another easy win over Henley to finish off their feud, but I'm actually glad that wasn't the case and Henley scored the fluke win instead. There wasn't much to the match due to being so brief, but it would have been overshadowed by the outcome, anyway. They continued to brawl afterward and Stratton challenged Henley to a rematch at New Year's Evil. As of now, no stipulation has been announced, but it would make sense.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov Accepted Ridge Holland's Challenge

Holland walked out on Butch recently on SmackDown and there was zero follow-up. You'd think he turn on him to cement their split, but that has yet to happen. And then he randomly shows up here and the crowd couldn't have cared less. This was a good verbal exchange and Dragunov carried the segment, but it was a weird way of setting up a match between them for later on in the night.

Lexis King def. Dion Lennox in an NXT Men's Breakout Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I believe Lennox went viral last week on social media simply for standing in the aisleway when they announced the tournament entrants. He's got a great look, that's for sure. This was kept on the shorter side, which was probably for the best, but what we got from them in that time was passable. Trey Bearhill, the dude who King attacked last week to take his spot in the tourney, showed up afterward to fend off King. If he's cleared to compete, then why the hell didn't he wrestle here instead of King?

Izzi Dame and Kiana James de. Chase U (Thea Hail and Jacy Jane)

Dame debuted to a flat reaction helping James beat Roxanne Perez at Deadline. They're a decent duo, but it feels like a step backward for James following her Steel Cage win over Perez, assuming they'll primarily be wrestling in the tag team ranks. The match was fine for what it was as it furthered the story that Hail and Jane are down on their luck with Chase U having financial trouble at the moment.

NXT North American Champion Dragon Lee def. Charlie Dempsey and Joe Coffey in a Triple Threat Match

A member of Drew Gulak's group was advertised to accept Lee's open challenge, but Coffey also stepped up before the bell to make it a Triple Threat. Lee vs. Dempsey would've been fun, but adding Coffey made it even better. This was nicely paced and had enjoyable action, but there was never any doubt that Lee was winning with a title defense already scheduled for Friday's SmackDown against Butch. Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro making the save for Lee afterward was cool.

Tavion Heights def. Luca Crusifino in an NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament Quarterfinal Match

I'm not sure if Heights has ever competed on NXT TV before (only Level Up and Main Event to my knowledge), but I had the chance to interview him last year and watch his rise on Level Up. He certainly has potential and I was happy to see him advance. Crusifino has shown signs of improvement as well, even if I'm not the biggest fan of his lawyer shtick. This felt like a match you'd see on Level Up, but it wasn't bad just basic.

Nikkita Lyons def. Tatum Paxley

Lyons took part in that tag team match last week, but this was her first televised singles matchup since returning from injury. It was okay at best. It essentially served as a showcase for Lyons and therefore didn't get a ton of time, but I just don't see the upside in Lyons that others do. NXT has women who are much further along in the ring. Paxley is still improving, but her new stalker character is far more interesting.

Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) def. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger

I was surprised to see two matches involving Gallus guys on this show. At least this gave them a win after Joe Coffey failed to win the NXT North American Championship earlier. Walker and Ledger were getting an ample amount of television time for a while, but they have barely been featured at all as of late, so booking this as a straightforward squash for Gallus was logical. This seemed to only exist so Joe Gacy could interact with Joe Coffey at ringside.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov vs. Ridge Holland Ended in a No Contest (Non-Title)

This was the most "average" Dragunov match I've seen in recent memory. It wasn't a poor main event, but the crowd was largely quiet because this was a taped show and they didn't see Holland as a threat to Dragunov. The action was overshadowed by the lame ending with the injury angle and Dragunov getting stretchered out. The idea was that Holland didn't do it on purpose, similar to what happened with him and Big E last year. I have to agree with the masses that it was pretty tasteless considering the serious nature of that Big E injury.

Overall Show

It was obvious that this show was taped in advance with how phoned-in of an episode it was. It mostly consisted of enhancement matches and little storyline advancement. I didn't think there would be a show next week due to Christmas being the day before, but I expect that to be filler, too. At least New Year's Evil is shaping up to be a bigger episode than usual. The Triple Threat was the only thing to stand out, but that show-closing angle was highly questionable and unnecessary.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews