WWE NXT Review - July 23, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cedric Alexander and Ashante "Thee" Adonis Confronted Trick Williams

Williams made it clear that he wants a rematch for the NXT Championship, but he has a few more hoops to go through first and that's how his match with Alexander for later on in the night came about. Alexander has gotten a lot better on the mic compared to when he joined WWE years ago, but Adonis still needs work. I don't believe I've mentioned this in my reviews yet, but I'm all for Alexander and Adonis getting a run in NXT considering there hasn't been any plans for them on the main roster in a long time.

Brooks Jensen def. Josh Briggs in a No Disqualification Match

I largely haven't cared about Jensen's repackaging and recent angle, but this was the best that he's come across so far. He and Briggs had a well-worked brawl and they effectively utilized the stipulation. I like the role Shawn Spears is playing in all of this by attempting to manipulate Jensen and serve as his mentor. He gave me Emperor vibes from Revenge of the Sith when he yelled "Do it!" at Jensen to hit Briggs with the chair. We'll see if Jensen can get over through that alliance.

Eddy Thorpe def. Lexis King

These two have been feuding for a few weeks, so to have their first one-on-one encounter end in under three minutes was a tad underwhelming. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't expecting them to have a barnburner or anything like that, but it seems counterproductive to give King the occasional win only to have him lose his next two or three matches. He's essentially a stepping stone at this point. This was too short to be anything other than fine, but it looks like the feud will continue with King attacking Thorpe afterward.

Oro Mensah def. Ashante "Thee" Adonis

Mensah has been all over Ethan Page as of late for why he did to him and Noam Dar last month, so if he's going to be a threat to the NXT Championship, he needs some wins. Thus, that's why this existed: to give Mensah a credibility boost. They had a fun sprint in the time they were allotted. If Adonis is going to get anything out of this NXT return run, he needs to switch it up and not stick with the failed Hit Row gimmick.

Wren Sinclair def. Carlee Bright

Sinclair was a witness to |No Quarter Catch Crew "disposing" of Damon Kemp in the parking lot, so she told Charlie Dempsey that he better help her win here or she'd spill their secret. It's silly storytelling, but at least it's something for Sinclair, who has done nothing but serve as a jobber since signing with NXT last year. The match was whatever, but Sinclair finally getting a win was cool. I don't know why The D'Angelo Family are still involved with No Quarter Catch Crew.

Kelly Kincaid Conducted a Sit-Down Interview with Roxanne Perez

This was a great way to give Hail some additional character development before she challenges Perez for the NXT Women's Championship next week. Like Kincaid brought up, she wasn't hyper whatsoever, which was a refreshing change of pace. She talked about her last year since failing to win the NXT Women's Championship at The Great American Bash one year ago and why she's ready for this opportunity. The Chase U stuff doesn't do much for me, but the evolution of Hail has been a treat to watch.

Trick Williams def. Cedric Alexander

I couldn't even tell you the last time Alexander had a competitive match on WWE TV. Was it late last year on SmackDown with Dragon Lee? I know he was squashed by Bron Breakker in under 30 seconds at one point earlier this year. At any rate, I was happy to see him showcase his skills here in what as an enjoyable outing. Williams had a good showing as well. Following his victory, he was attacked by Pete Dunne, so I assume he won't get his NXT Championship rematch until No Mercy in September.

The Meta-Four (Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson) def. Karmen Petrovic and Sol Ruca

Petrovic and Ruca have had issues with Jacy Jane, Jazmyn Nyx and Fallon Henley for the past few weeks, but they wanted to prove that they're worthy of a shot at the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with a win here. Meta-Four went over instead and will now challenge Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn for the belts on next week's show. For a match that featured all women who are still progressing and improving, this exceeded my expectations.

Oro Mensah "Pinned" NXT Champion Ethan Page

Page was distraught throughout the show about Mensah "pinning" him last week and Mensah embarrassed him for a second straight week by doing it again here. The crowd was actually behind Mensah after he did it here, so that was an encouraging sign. We found out at the very end of the episode that Mensah will finally get his hands on Page next week with the NXT Championship on the line.

The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel and Wes Lee) def. Je'Von Evans and NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer

If you enjoy exciting, high-flying spot-fests, then this match was for you. They've become par for the course in AEW, but we don't see them quite as often in WWE or NXT, so this was an absolute blast. The Rascalz' reunion tour has been awesome so far and they had three insanely skilled opponents in Axiom, Frazer and Evans. Lee and Wentz teased earlier in the episode getting a rematch at the NXT Tag Team Championship (they were never beaten for them two years ago) and Wentz pinning Axiom here should set that up.

Overall Show

This edition of NXT was more entertaining than usual. Last week's show started strong but quickly died down, whereas this show managed to maintain momentum from beginning to end. Multiple matches were confirmed for Night 1 of The Great American Bash next week and were hyped accordingly and the in-ring action was above average on the whole. Bonus points for the excellent Joe Hendry video package that helped illustrate how he's become such a sensation and advertise his first-ever NXT concert for next Tuesday night.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews