WWE NXT Review - February 22, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Peyton Royce def. Liv Morgan and Ember Moon in an NXT Women's Championship Triple Threat Match

In theory, the Triple Threat stipulation definitely would have worked to their advantage so the three competitors could cycle out, but this was a glorified singles match with Moon out at ringside for a majority of the match. Morgan just isn't sympathetic as a babyface, so it's not as if the crowd rallied behind her here, but at least Royce looked dominant by being on offense throughout. Royce winning actually surprised me, but then again, the title match with Asuka will happen on next week's show, so I assume Moon will earn her shot at the strap sometime soon to set up that match.

Pete Dunne def. Mandrews

This was one of my favorite matches from the WWE United Championship Kingdom Tournament last month, so I'm glad this was their introduction to the NXT fans. Mandrews is an amazing high-flyer while I'm a big fan of Dunne's intensity and hard-hitting style, so this was a truly terrific match. They told a solid story with Mandrews having to work from underneath, so the second half was excellent and the finishing sequence was fantastic. Here's hoping both men will be staples of NXT going forward.

NXT Champion Bobby Roode def. No Way Jose (Non-title)

It was going to be a tough task for these two to contest anything close to the previous match, but for what this was, it was an entertaining affair between two of NXT's most colorful characters. Jose, despite suffering from a real lack of direction recently, held his own against the champ and I was glad he wasn't beaten too quickly or decisively. I honestly wasn't expecting Kassius Ohno to return so soon since a vignette hyping his comeback aired earlier in the evening, but it was great to see him. The back and forth he had with Roode on the mic was straightforward and effective in bringing him back into the fold while the brief brawl they had was well done. It looks like Ohno is back as a babyface, so this mean it's him vs. Roode for the title at TakeOver or will it be a Triple Threat with Shinsuke Nakamura? Only time will tell.

Overall Show

NXT has been in a bit of holding pattern since TakeOver: San Antonio, but this might have been the most newsworthy episode yet. A new No. 1 contender to the NXT Women's Championship was crowned, Dunne and Mandrews made their NXT TV debuts, and the NXT Champion was in action in the main event. On the whole, it was an enjoyable hour of wrestling, but I strongly recommend you specifically check out Dunne vs. Mandrews as well as Ohno's return. Next week's show will feature two title matches with the NXT Women's and Tag Team Championships being defended, so I look forward to that.