WWE NXT Review - January 25, 2017

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ember Moon def. Liv Morgan

I'm sorry, but Morgan is simply no good. I thought she would improve over time, and she has ever so slightly, but she is far from being on the same level as Moon or Asuka at this point. The dumb one-dimensional gimmick she has doesn't help matters, either. On the bright side, Moon carried her to a competent contest that was a bit better than I originally expected. I assume Moon will continue building momentum until she faces Asuka for the NXT Women's Championship at TakeOver: Orlando.

No Way Jose def. Kona Reeves

It's been a while since we last saw Jose on NXT TV, hasn't it? He was aligned with Rich Swann for a time, but that fizzled out due to Swann having more important matters on the main roster as WWE Cruiserweight Champion. This was a fine match, but it just struck me as odd they would reintroduce Jose into storylines on the go-home show for TakeOver. That said, a feud with Elias Sampson was teased afterward, but I can't say that interests me in the slightest. Anything involving Sampson is bound to die a death.

Eric Young def. Chris Atkins

Atkins has a nice build and an awesome entrance theme, but he does come across as generic. Anyway, the focus in this match was on Young and how he mocked his TakeOver opponent Tye Dillinger throughout. The bout was kept short and sweet as it should have been with Killian Dain laying waste to Atikins afterward, so look for him to play a factor in the finish during Young's match with Dillinger on Saturday.

NXT Women's Champion Asuka, Nikki Cross, Billie Kay and Peyton Royce Brawled

It was cool for the women to take center stage on NXT for the first time in many months, but this wasn't that strong of a segment. Of everyone involved in the Fatal 4-Way at TakeOver: San Antonio, Cross is the only true threat to the title because Kay and Royce were quickly disposed of here, though they are an entertaining tandem. Their mic work wasn't particularly good and the crowd hardly reacted to the face-off between Asuka and Cross. Asuka taking out the security was pretty badass and Cross' dive off the top rope was a sweet spot, but those seemed to be the sole saving graces of this segment.

Overall Show

Needless to say, none of the matches stood out in a memorable way, nor did the disappointing show-closing segment, but by far the best parts about this edition of NXT were the video packages promoting the NXT Tag Team and NXT Championship matches at TakeOver. However, I wouldn't recommend you go out of your way to watch this show for those vignettes alone because they will likely be played prior to/during TakeOver, so skip this episode otherwise.