 NXT North American Champion and AAA World Mixed Tag Team Champion Ethan Page def. Elio LeFleurI knew nothing about LeFleur coming into this contest other than the fact he recently signed with NXT. This being his debut for the brand made me think there was a chance he'd take the title, but I'm glad Page retained since he's coming up on the all-time record for longest NXT North American Championship reign in about a month. Page works well with the luchadors and high-fliers, so this was an enjoyable outing. Shiloh Hill def. Josh Briggs to Qualify for the NXT Championship Ladder MatchBriggs has been the gatekeeper of NXT for a while now and just isn't interesting as a challenger to the NXT Championship, so Hill winning (especially after he lost to Channing Lorenzo on last week's episode) was the better call. Hill will benefit from working with guys with much more experience than him and I thought he had another solid showing here. I'd actually like to see him continue fleshing out his character like we saw in the vignettes that aired for him prior to his debut. The Vanity Project (Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor) def. Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor) def. Chase U (Kale Dixon and Uriah Connors)Is the team name Swipe Right for Bayley and Smokes no more? They were only referred to as The Vanity Project here. Anyway, it was established a few weeks ago that all of Vanity Project are officially signed to NXT, so this served as a nice showcase for them. They're a talented tandem and I absolutely see them making a run at the NXT Tag Team Championship on the sooner side. Blake Monroe Interrupted Jaida ParkerParker definitely feels like a natural heel, but there's no denying she's a fan favorite, so I'm fine with her being a babyface upon returning from injury. Monroe is an excellent foil for her, but I do wonder why she all of a sudden doesn't care about getting back the NXT Women's North American Championship. Nonetheless, this was a quality promo from Parker, who comes off as the genuine article. Sean Legacy def. Eli Knight to Qualify for the NXT Championship Ladder MatchI saw before the show started that Legacy was signed to an NXT contract, so that gave away he was winning here. I don't know if Knight is also signed to an NXT contract, but either way, both guys are impressive. They had a good match. Post-match, Tony D'Angelo laid out Legacy and Knight after doing the same to Hill and Briggs earlier in the evening. He was subsequently "arrested" and never said a word. It's been difficult to care about the stuff with D'Angelo when there's been so little development with him, not to mention I don't see him being NXT Championship material at this point. Sol Ruca and Zaria def. Fatal Influence (WWE Women's Speed Champion Fallon Henley and Lainey Reid) and Evolve Women's Champion Kendal Grey & Wren Sinclair in a TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Tag Team MatchNXT has become so bare storyline-wise that the most important thing on this episode was apparently a match to determine number one contenders to tag titles that don't matter and belong to another company. I get that this match was about more than that as it managed to further a few other stories, but there's just too many titles to keep track of on NXT TV these days. Overall ShowThe key for NXT going forward will be to spotlight as many fresh faces as possible, and this show did that rather effectively. It still wasn't a strong show by any means, but I suspect the brand will be in a rebuilding phase for quite some time. This episode accomplished what it needed to as we get closer to the February 3rd edition that will feature the crowning of a new NXT Champion. By the way, I'd have no issue with there not being another premium live event until Stand & Deliver over WrestleMania weekend, because NXT definitely doesn't need one anytime soon.
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