WWE NXT Review - December 27, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Julius Creed def. JD McDonagh

McDonagh can get a great match out of just about anyone, and Creed has shown he has breakout singles potential eventually. Thus, it was no surprise these two had an enjoyable affair to open the show. They worked well together and Creed successfully proved he could hang with a star of McDonagh's caliber. WE found out afterward that it will be The Creed Brothers vs. Indus Sher in two weeks at New Year's Evil.

Wendy Choo def. Cora Jade

This Jade vs. Choo has been basic stuff with Jade bullying Choo and it bringing back bad memories for Choo who was apparently bullied in school, but I still feel it's a waste of what Jade can be doing. She has played her role well, but considering she lost her last feud to Roxanne Perez, she should probably be doing more winning right now than losing. She can bounce back from a loss to Choo, but this outcome wasn't ideal. On the bright side, it was a quality contest.

Scrypts def. Ikemen Jiro

I'm sorry but this stuff with Scrypts still sucks. I know his attire is slightly different than it was when he debuted a month ago, but Reggie's acrobatic act doesn't interest me at all and the gimmick itself is awful. Jiro has been the go-to jobber for NXT for a while now, so beating him hardly means anything. This was a serviceable, but here's hoping it isn't long before officials get the hint and ditch the Scrypts silliness because it's obviously not working.

Lyra Valkyria def. Lash Legend

I was worried when Legend was introduced as Valkyria's opponent, but to Legend's credit, she held her own here and had one of her better showings in recent memory. I'm glad they aren't forcing a push for her anymore and are instead letting her develop in the ring. Having her work with experienced people such as Valkyria will only help her in the long run. This was another nice win for Valkyria. Hopefully she doesn't spin her wheels for as long as she did in NXT UK. 

Schism (Joe Gacy and The Dyad) def. Edris Enofe, Malik Blade and Odyssey Jones

Schism still isn't my favorite faction by any means, but their presentation has definitely improved since Ava Raine was added back in October. Their matches are also more entertaining because they aren't holding back anymore in favor of doing character stuff. Gacy has terrific chemistry with the former Grizzled Young Veterans and even the babyface trio had their chance to shine here. The finishing sequence in particular looked awesome.

Fallon Henley def. Kiana James in a Battle For the Bar

This "Battle for the Bar" has done nothing for me and I can't say I was invested in the storyline at all, but I do appreciate them having stakes for this match to make it mean more than it would have otherwise. From an in-ring standpoint, this was well wrestled and both women showed signs of potential. Henley is a bit more polished as a wrestler than James but her character needs work, while James is making noticeable strides. Here's hoping we can now move past this.

Charlie Dempsey Confronted Drew Gulak and Hank Walker

Gulak hosted what he referred to as an exhibition with a few Performance Center prospects with Walker watching on before Dempsey crashed it and challenged Walker to a match that Gulak accepted on Walker's behalf. At one point, it looked like we were getting a Gulak faction of some sort and I hope that's where this is leading. That's much better than Gulak being aligned with only Walker. This was a fine way to set up Dempsey vs. Walker.

NXT North American Champion Wes Lee def. Tony D'Angelo

D'Angelo blamed Lee for putting him on the shelf with that injury a few months ago, so this had history behind it. This won't be considered late contender for Match of the Year or anything, but it was a good main event that played out as expected with Dijak thwarting Channing Lorenzo's interference and Lee capitalizing off that ringside distraction to retain. We're obviously headed for a Triple Threat with Lee, D'Angelo and Dijak, but I wonder if we'll get Lee and Dijak as reluctant partners against D'Angelo and Lorenzo before then.

Overall Show

This was taped a few weeks ago prior to the holidays and it was apparent because nothing of note happened. It wasn't a bad show by any means, and the quality was largely consistent, but you didn't miss much if you didn't tune in. That said, I like that there's been more emphasis on the in-ring action lately and I hope it continues into the new year. They've set up some interesting matches for the next two weeks that I'm looking forward to, specifically Apollo Crews vs. Carmelo Hayes next week and then Bron Breakker vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship at New Year's Evil.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews