WWE NXT Review - February 17, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pete Dunne and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch Attacked NXT Champion Finn Balor, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong

O'Reilly kicking off the show demanding answers was the only opening segment that made sense. He delivered his promo really well and I liked how Strong came out instead as he's trying to play peacemaker. We also got confirmation that Balor will continue to be involved in the angle. He doesn't fully trust O'Reilly and Strong after what happened at TakeOver: Vengeance Day, but he too wants to get his hands on Cole for what he did to him. Dunne, Lorcan and Burch attacking all three of them set the stage nicely for the night's main event.

Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackeart def. The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell)

This was a rematch from last week's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic semifinals. It was once again a quality contest, but I don't think it needed to last as long as it did. Yes, it made The Way look credible in defeat, but the focus was almost entirely on Johnny Gargano on commentary and the creepy van outside containing the abducted Austin Theory. It looks like Moon and Blackheart will be sticking around as a team for a little longer, which might be the best thing for them if NXT doesn't plan to put them in the NXT Women's Championship hunt any time soon. It also looks like Dexter Lumis is next in line for a shot at Gargano's NXT North American Championship.

Leon Ruff def. Isiah "Swerve" Scott

I assumed this would be an easy win for Scott, especially since Ruff didn't even receive a televised entrance, but apparently not. The match was what it was and Ruff winning was a surprise. I know Ruff is a former NXT North American Champion and needs some credibility of his own, but it shouldn't come at the expense of a guy like Scott who is obviously struggling right now, losing more often than he wins. Thankfully, Scott attacked him afterward to get some of his heat back, but he needs some meaningful wins to get back on track.

Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter def. Aliyah and Jessi Kamea

Catanzaro and Carter have clearly made strides in the last month since taking part in the Dusty Classic. They aren't completely polished just yet, but they're improving with each outing and it's encouraging to see. This was a fine win for them, but the focus was on Catanzaro confronting Xia Li afterward as they'll be going one-on-one next week. Catanzaro is the perfect person for Li to be beating right now, especially since she lost to her a while ago I believe.

MSK Addressed NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch; WWE Women's Tag Team Champions Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler Confronted Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai

Not counting the dumb "treehouse" skits they used to do, I think I've heard MSK talk more in NXT than I ever did in IMPACT. It continues to amaze me that they've been booked so well so quickly after never once winning anything of importance over there. I'm looking forward to them challenging Lorcan and Burch for the NXT Tag Team Championship in two weeks, but the bigger story of this segment was the NXT returns of Jax and Baszler. These were their best promos in forever and I loved how Kai and Gonzalez acknowledged their history with them (specifically Kai being scared of Baszler once upon a time). This is the most excited I've been for a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match in a long time and I can't stress enough how badly I want those belts in NXT where they belong.

Kushida def. Tyler Rust

Kushida is coming off a high-profile loss to Gargano at TakeOver, so this was a solid rebound win for him. Rust is another guy who has potential and is technically proficient in the ring, but he needs an extra something to take him to that next level. His alliance with Malcom Bivens will help with that, but I'm talking about a video package or an important program so fans can get to know him better outside of what he can do in the ring. This was a well-wrestled affair, but I'm curious where Kushida goes from here. Fingers crossed he doesn't go back to treading water for months on end.

Zoey Stark def. Valentina Feroz

We got our first look at Stark in the first round of the women's Dusty Classic when she unsuccessfully teamed with Marina Shafir, though that was on an episode of 205 Live. I'm not very familiar with the former Lacey Ryan, but she had a decent showing here against Feroz. I'll need to see more of her to get a better idea of what she's capable of, but it's nice that NXT is already in the process of introducing some new faces to the women's division.

Pete Dunne and NXT Tag Team Champions Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch def. NXT Champion Finn Balor, Kyle O'Reilly and Roderick Strong

It was illogical for Balor to even agree to teaming with O'Reilly and Strong after what went down at TakeOver; William Regal should have threatened to take the title off him if he refused to do it. Other that that, this was a strong six-man tag team main event. It was all action from bell to bell and it successfully furthered the story with Balor, O'Reilly and Strong failing to coexist. Dunne pinning Balor was interesting as I figured he was done in the NXT Championship picture, but apparently not. Cole's attacks on Balor and O'Reilly were also well done and if it wasn't already obvious, Cole is indeed done with O'Reilly. I'm not not sure about the rest of Undisputed Era, though.

Overall Show

As a post-TakeOver show, this was good stuff. Nothing overly exciting happened and we don't have many answers, but several stories moved forward and there was solid wrestling to boot. We also found out that two big tag titles matches are going down on the show in two weeks. I wanted to see LA Night appear, but the quick video we got with him instead was fine. This show should have been a bit hotter following such a strong TakeOver, but the two hours were enjoyable, nonetheless.