WWE NXT Review - November 15, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Von Wagner

I had no desire to see this headline NXT Deadline next month, so I'm glad they got it out of the way on this show. Then again, Breakker vs. Joe Gacy for the NXT Championship happened on NXT TV before being done again at In Your House, so one can only hope they don't run this back (and there's no need to because Breakker won clean). I give Wagner a lot of crap, but he held his own here and it was a solid match despite not being one of Breakker's best title defenses.

Zoey Stark Explained Her Betrayal of Nikkita Lyons

I've always recognized what Stark can do in the ring, but I never cared much for her as a character because of how boring and bland she was as a babyface. That said, this promo was easily the best she's cut in NXT. The explanation for her actions actually made sense and she delivered her lines well. She also wasn't wrong when she said she had to carry Lyons during their team, and I assume she'll have to do the same when they start having matches against each other. This was a successful first night for heel Stark.

Indus Sher def. George Cannon and Ariel Dominguez

What's interesting is that we didn't get much of Indus Sher during their original run together in 2020. They only had a handful of matches on NXT TV before they were taken off the show and subsequently broken up. As I've said before, I'm all for them reuniting and getting another chance. After what I saw from them here in their match and post-match promo, I feel they have a lot of potential as a team. This was a dominant showcase for them and their promo put The Creed Brothers on notice.

Apollo Crews def. JD McDonagh

After McDonagh and Crews both confronted Breakker backstage separately earlier in this episode, this basically became an NXT Championship number one contender's match without officially being called one. Both guys are great, so it was no surprise this was an entertaining affair. Crews winning clean should set him up to challenge Breakker at Deadline. McDonagh has already gotten two shots at the title this year and failed, so Crews is the right choice.

Booker T Oversaw the Contract Signing Between NXT North American Champion Wes Lee and Carmelo Hayes

Why isn't Lee vs. Hayes being saved for Deadline? It'd be one thing if we were getting Hayes in the NXT Championship match on that show, but it doesn't look like that will be the case (unless his main roster call-up is imminent). Nonetheless, that should be a terrific match for next week's show. This featured good stuff from both guys with Hayes doing a majority of the talking. I also appreciated that it didn't end in the predictable brawl.

The Dyad def. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen

Ava Raine has definitely improved the dynamic of Schism, but I'm not convinced the group is going to get much better now that she's joined. The former Grizzled Young Veterans are talented enough that I'll likely enjoy their matches no matter what, though. They had a fine match with Briggs and Jensen that was watered down by shenanigans outside the ring. Schism continue to rack up wins despite no one giving a shit about them.

Indi Hartwell def. Tatum Paxley

Paxley was shown in a backstage segment earlier in the evening without her mask on, so apparently she wears it during her matches now simply to protect her face (even though that's traditionally been a heel thing to do). In this case, she wore it only so Hartwell could rip it off and nearly break her nose, further teasing a heel turn. The match itself was whatever, but at least it served a purpose and didn't last long.

NXT Women's Champion Mandy Rose def. Alba Fyre in a Last Woman Standing Match

I really didn't need to see another Last Woman Standing match so soon after the last one (which was awesome, by the way), but they gave it a strong effort and had a fun outing with some cool spots down the stretch. I thought for sure we were getting a new champion considering Fyre already got three title shots this year and lost all of them, but nope. Former NXT UK star Isla Dawn cost her the match. Dawn bored me to tears during her time there, so I can't say I'm excited for her feud with Fyre.

Overall Show

They loaded this show with two title matches that bookended the episode, Crews vs. McDonagh, and the Shawn Michaels announcement, which was that we're getting two Iron Survivor Challenge matches at Deadline and they're essentially the old Scramble match from 2008/2009 with a penalty box. This was one of the better editions of NXT in recent memory due to those matches delivering as well as the re-debut of Indus Sher and Stark's promo. Now we await the arrival of Scrypts and the return of Dominik Dijakovic. It sounds like Scrpyts is coming next week, so hopefully Dijakovic isn't far behind.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews