WWE NXT Review - December 26, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bianca Belair def. Lacey Evans, Io Shirai and Mia Yim in an NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way Match

Any one of these women could have realistically contended for the NXT Women's Championship at NXT TakeOver: Phoenix, so that obviously added to the drama surrounding the nearfalls and the in-ring action the whole. All four ladies played their roles remarkably well, the crowd was into it all, and it was just a strong layout. Belair vs. Shayna Baszler for the title is now official for TakeOver, and I assume Evans eating the pinfall loss was designed to be her swan song from NXT with a main roster call-up imminent.

Jaxson Ryker def. Mitch Taverna

It's been a while since Ryker was last showcased in singles competition, so hopefully that means he hasn't been forgotten about just yet (see what I did there?). He made short work of Taverna and looked impressive while doing so. He's honestly more interesting than the other two members of Forgotten Sons On a side note, it's worth noting that commentary was completely silent during this. No explanation was given, which was weird.

NXT Tag Team Champions Undisputed Era def. Heavy Machinery

Heavy Machinery have received a shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship only once before and it was a disappointing showing against AOP, so this was a great way for them to redeem themselves. They had excellent opponents in Undisputed Era who helped carry them to an entertaining main event. Not at any point did I think the titles were in jeopardy of changing hands, if only because Heavy Machinery are on their way up to the main roster, but I enjoyed this nonetheless and thought Heavy Machinery looked good before being beaten. I'm left wondering who will be next to challenge for the twin titles at TakeOver.

Overall Show

This edition of NXT TV was built around the women's Fatal 4-Way and the NXT Tag Team Championship main event, and both bouts delivered. Granted, there was a bit more uncertainty regarding the finish to the opener compared to Undisputed Era vs. Heavy Machinery, but I can't complain about quality wrestling. Ryker's brief squash was fine as well, making this a solid edition of NXT TV on the whole.