WWE NXT Review - June 18, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Je'Von Evans Won an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Battle Royal

Joe Hendry!!! The guy received the monster pop from the crowd that I hoped he would. For those unfamiliar, he's a TNA talent who has gotten himself organically over. He belongs on a bigger stage and this was an awesome introduction for him. Granted, it wasn't ideal for him to be tossed out immediately, but I'm sure we haven't seen the last of him in NXT. The rest of the Battle Royal was basic stuff, but they furthered some stories and I liked the finishing sequence. It was also cool to see Frankie Kazarian in there lasting as long as he did.

NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez & Lola Vice def. The Meta-Four (Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend) and Jacy Jane & Jazmyn Nyx in a Triple Threat Tag Team Match

I wasn't a fan of last week's show-closing segment with these six women and I didn't think this was much better. There wasn't anything technically wrong with it, but I'm not sure what purpose it was supposed to serve with all of them being heels. Who is the crowd supposed to cheer for? It looks like we're getting Perez vs. Vice at Heatwave, which is disappointing because I thought Guilia was reportedly getting the shot on that show.

NXT Women's North American Champion Kelani Jordan def. Michin

Jordan remains a work in progress, but she's coming along nicely. It was smart for her to have her first title defense against an established veteran. Michin was never going to win, but she gave Jordan a quality contest. Plus, Jaida Parker getting involved furthered her feud with Michin. Jordan said later on she wants to defend against Sol Ruca next, so I appreciate that she's already being booked as a fighting champion.

NXT North American Champion Oba Femi Accepted Wes Lee's Challenge

Femi vs. Lee was the match I wanted at Battleground, so I'm glad we're getting it at Heatwave. I don't think they definitely said it was happening at Heatwave, but that's where it makes the most sense to do it. They had a solid verbal exchange here. Lee has come into his own on the mic and Femi is improving as well. Femi said this would be Lee's last shot at the title as long as he's champion. Does that guarantee a Lee loss so he can be called up to the main roster?

Fallon Henley def. Carlee Bright

I still don't see anything special about Bright or her tag team partner Kendal Grey. They're f​ine, but they still come off as extremely generic. This seemed to serve as a straightforward showcase for Henley. Grey was taken out at ringside by Wendy Choo, so it's possible we get a tag team match out of this, but I don't know why Henley would want to team with Choo. Either way, it was wise to keep this on the shorter side.

Chase U (Duke Hudson and Andre Chase) def. The O.C. (Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows)

The story with Chase U right now is that they're gradually letting Ridge Holland into the group. Thea Hail told Chase U to give him a chance, yet he helped Hudson cheat to win here. Didn't they just do this same story with Jane not that long ago? Why does Chase U still exist at this point? The match was perfectly passable, but personally, I don't care about whatever they're going for at the moment.

Ethan Page def. Je'Von Evans

It would've been pretty silly for Page to lose his first three matches in NXT, so I'm actually glad he won here. Yes, it was slightly silly for Evans to become the number one contender to the NXT Championship at the show and then lose at the end of the show, but maybe it will turn into a Fatal 4-Way also involving Shawn Spears at Heatwave. This was a good match as the two of them worked well together.

Overall Show

I never tune into NXT live these days, but I might have to start if the TNA crossover stuff is going to continue. The TNA representation in the Battle Royal was easily the highlight of the night. The rest of the show held up, too. There's a quick turnaround time between Battleground and Heatwave, but already we know what most of the card is going to consist of and that's a positive. This show started hot, lost a little momentum in the middle, and recovered well by the end.

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