WWE NXT Review - January 24, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Tiffany Stratton def. Indi Hartwell

This was Stratton's first bout back since losing to Wendy Choo several months ago. Hartwell was a good person for her to work with given Hartwell's experience and tenure on the NXT roster. They had a solid match and it was probably for the best to keep it on the shorter side. The outcome was never in doubt as Stratton begins to climb the ranks of NXT's women's division. Meanwhile, I think it's high time Hartwell gets called up to the main roster.

JD McDonagh def. Andre Chase

This stemmed from McDonagh interrupted Chase U celebrating Thea Hail's first win on NXT TV. McDonagh hasn't had a ton of direction since failing to earn another opportunity at the NXT Championship at Deadline last month. I'd say McDonagh is above working with Chase, but Chase U is so over at the moment that they're probably higher in the pecking order than him. Chase is obviously skilled in the ring, so this was a well-wrestled match while it lasted.

Fallon Henley and Kiana James def. Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley

Henley and James still aren't the best of friends, which makes sense given their recent history. Hell, Henley was hesitant to accept the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship opportunity Brooks Jensen got them following their win here. It would be dumb for them to put their differences aside that quickly, and I assume this leads to James turning on Henley and Jensen, anyway. For a three-minute match, this was okay. I have no idea why Nile had to eat the pinfall loss instead of Paxley.

The Creed Brothers def. Hank Walker and Drew Gulak

I can't imagine Gulak will be able to tolerate Walker for much longer if he keeps losing. The match itself was enjoyable, especially any time Creed Brothers were in there with Gulak. I'm more intrigued by whether Charlie Dempsey is going to face Gulak eventually or replace Walker as his pupil. Post-match, it was announced that we'll finally be getting Creed Brothers vs. Indus Sher on next week's show.

Elektra Lopez def. Wendy Choo

Lopez's in-ring work is still quite questionable. I applaud the effort in trying to get her over on her own, but I'm not sure it will stick. I criticize Choo's gimmicks for being crap, but at least she can work. This was another example of a match being better off because it was brief. The story was that Lopez was willing to cheat when Valentina Feroz was not last week, so seeing that it worked out for Lopez here might convince Feroz to align with her.

Grayson Waller Stood Tall Over NXT Champion Bron Breakker

There isn't much more that can be squeezed out of this feud, but I thought this was a perfectly passable effort. Waller did his usual trash talking and Breakker's frustration led to him busting through the barricade. Waller basically outsmarted him, which has been the story of their feud. I don't see Waller leaving Vengeance Day as NXT Champion, but they're doing what they can to make people view him as a threat.

NXT Women's Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter def. Sol Ruca and Alba Fyre

It was so silly how this was originally advertised as a Handicap match seeing as how Sami Zayn was able to fill in for Jimmy Uso when he got "hurt" during the Raw Tag Team Championship match on Monday's Raw. WWE makes their rules up as they go along, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. It wasn't long before Ruca stepped up as her partner. This was a nice match and I love how Ruca has been spotlighted lately. All signs point to Fyre turning heel, but does she really need to align with Isla Dawn? Ugh.

Toxic Attraction Attacked NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez During the NXT Women's Championship Summit

Jacy Jane and Gigi Dolin had been teasing tension for weeks, so they did an effective job of making it seem real before ultimately revealing it as a ruse at the end of this segment. Their mic work was much better this week compared to last week as they didn't sound as scripted and Perez didn't really have to do anything. Even if they remain a united front, Toxic Attraction have virtually no chance of capturing the championship come Vengeance Day.

Overall Show

NXT has settled into a boring formula for the last month or so where the shows largely consist of enhancement matches that don't last more than a few minutes. We might get one above-average match if we're lucky. I realize that's more or less what NXT has always been, but it's worse now when there isn't anything overly interesting about a majority of the storylines or characters. The build to Vengeance Day has been straightforward and the card has potential, but there isn't anything remotely must-see about these episodes. This was a serviceable show, but if you didn't tune in, you didn't miss much.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews