WWE NXT Review - January 11, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Billie Kay and Peyton Royce def. Sarah Bridges and Macey Evans

​​Kay and Royce have always been talented in the ring, but their character development had been lacking until recently. They definitely have chemistry as a duo and they're improving on the mic as well. Their attack on Asuka helped established them as legitimate threats to the NXT Women's Championship, while Nikki Cross coming to Asuka's aid only to turn on her was well done. If it's a Fatal 4-Way match we get for the title at TakeOver: San Antonio, it should be a fun one. On a side note, Bridges is none other than Crazy Mary Dobson, who WWE recently signed.

Elias Sampson def. Jonathon Cruz

If I never saw another match involving The Drifter for the rest of my life, I would be content. Seriously, I'm shocked he's still being featured as much as he has been. The character just isn't clicking, and although he elicits heat, it isn't the right type of heat. He can beat a thousand local athletes and he will still never be considered a threat to any credible competitor on the roster. In so many words, this was a waste of time.

Andrade "Cien" Almas def. Oney Lorcan

As I have said several times before, Almas is infinitely more comfortable in the heel role than he ever was as a babyface. That was certainly evident in this match as he fed off the crowd's boos while Lorcan shined as a fan favorite. He may be largely utilized as an enhancement talent, but the guy is an absolutely exceptional professional wrestler. This was a highly entertaining match with strong showings from both men. I also liked how the story behind this bout was that Almas wanted to avenge his loss to Lorcan from Japan and now he has his sights set on Roderick Strong, who eliminated him from the No. 1 Contender's Fatal 4-Way match last month.

Tom Phillips Interviewed NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura

As charismatic and as phenomenal of a performer as Nakamura is, he still needs to work on his promo skills, mostly because he struggles with his English. He is getting better, though, and this was a solid interview from him. He and Phillips touched upon his series of matches with Samoa Joe before transitioning into his next title defense against Bobby Roode in San Antonio. They don't have much time to build that bout up, but next week's contract signing should help with that. The ticket from TakeOver: Dallas was a cool touch and I'm sure we'll hear more about the significance of that next week.

NXT Tag Team Champions #DIY def. The Revival

If you thought this was going to be anything less than a great match, I can safely say you are a fool. Every match these two teams have had over the last six months has been incredible, and while this wasn't as classic of an encounter as their matches in Brooklyn and Toronto, it was a hell of a television main event. The psychology early on, especially from The Revival, was terrific as always and those final few minutes were fantastic. The Authors of Pain ambushing the champions afterward was a logical way to hype up that tag title match, though don't expect it to come anywhere close to being as good as this. By the way, if this really is it for The Revival in NXT, them hugging each other before taking #DIY's finisher was a fitting way to go out.

Overall Show

After a few weeks of taped content from overseas house shows, it was refreshing to be back to original content this week. And this was the best all-around edition of NXT in recent memory. The women's tag team match was all right and it set up a title match for TakeOver. Nakamura's interview was decent as well, Almas vs. Lorcan was a blast, and the main event was excellent. There was plenty of hype for TakeOver: San Antonio, which was needed since the event is in a little over two weeks and not much is known about the card as of now.