WWE NXT Review - September 3, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Trick Williams Was Interrupted by NXT Champion Ethan Page and Brawled with Pete Dunne

Williams setting his sights on the NXT Championship now that Joe Hendry has lost to Page was logical, but their exchange was brief before Dunne emerged to brawl with Williams. They brawled again backstage before their match later in the show. This was simple stuff, but it was effective. It was smart to keep it short and sweet because there was no reason for it to last longer than it did.

The Rascalz def. Tank Ledger & Hank Walker and Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) in an NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Tag Team Match

I'm glad Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel are sticking around in NXT even though Wentz beat Wes Lee at No Mercy. I'm all for them chasing the NXT Tag Team Championship, but it certainly feels like Lee is going to cost them the win against Axiom and Nathan Frazer on next week's show when the belts are on the line. At any rate, this was a fun Triple Threat tag team match. Je'Von Evans getting involved built toward his bout with Joe Coffey later on, and The O.C. got to further their feud with Hank and Tank as well.

Lexis King def. Oro Mensah

I'm honestly surprised King won here. For every match he wins, it feels like he loses the next two or three. Well, he followed up his recent victory over Eddy Thorpe with another win here, this time over Mensah. I do wonder if the King vs. Thorpe feud is over because there was no mention of it on this show to my knowledge. King and Mensah had a nice match in the time they were allotted.

Tatum Paxley def. Rosemary

It was awesome seeing Rosemary pop up on NXT last week and again this week. Granted, she was treated like an enhancement talent both times, but I enjoyed her interaction with the equally-creepy Paxley, even if the match itself was fairly basic. Lyra Valkyria hasn't been gone from NXT long enough for her return afterward to feel like a big deal, but her reunion with Paxley was a cool moment. She must be extremely forgiving considering Paxley betrayed her five months ago.

Pete Dunne vs. Trick Williams Ended in a Double Count-Out

The fact this didn't open or close the show should've told you that this was going to have some sort of a non-finish. Sure enough, they went with a double count-out. That's fine since Dunne will be involved in the Intercontinental Championship number one contender's Fatal 4-Way next week on Raw, so he shouldn't be losing before then. I loved how they fought like they have legitimate bad blood and it was a good match. Not only will their rematch next week be contested under Last Man Standing rules, the winner will also advance to the CW premiere on October 1st to challenge Page for the NXT Championship.

Je'Von Evans def. Joe Coffey

These two had a super solid match two weeks ago and I was looking forward to this rematch, but it was too short to be anything out of the ordinary. On the bright side, Evans got to avenge his loss to Coffey. While beating Coffey means very little at this point, it's smart to get Evans back to his winning ways. Is a rubber match in order or is their feud officially over?

NXT North American Champion Oba Femi def. Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo (Non-Title)

Femi may have turned heel when he told Adriana Rizzo that women are meant to be seen and not heard in some cultures. I'm only half-joking. Seriously, what was the point of that line? The match was essentially a squash for Femi, though Lorenzo was able to score some offense. Femi beat Tony D'Angelo decisively at No Mercy, so I don't have much of a desire to see Femi continue feuding with The D'Angelo Family.

Jaida Parker def. Jazmyn Nyx

Lola Vice went babyface after unsuccessfully challenging Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women's Championship at Heatwave despite being a natural heel. She's been worse off since then, so I hope the same thing doesn't happen to Parker. I realize she has the fans behind her, but she's also better as a heel. It looks like she will indeed be a babyface going forward given Fatal Influence attacked her afterward. The match was decent while it lasted.

Giulia Attacked Chelsea Green and Confronted NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez

Perez standing in the ring waiting for her next challenger has been done a few times already (which she referenced at the beginning of her promo), but at least we knew this time it would end with Giulia stepping up. Green coming out instead was a small swerve, but she was only there to take a beating from Giulia to save the physicality between Giulia and Perez. Giulia made it clear she wants a title match on the CW premiere, and I have no doubt she's winning it that night. All of this was well done.

Overall Show

There was no other place to mention it in this review, but I thought the vignette with Ridge Holland's explaining his betrayal of Chase U was great. His mic skills have definitely improved from where they were. Anyway, this edition of NXT did a quality job of following up on No Mercy from Sunday night while simultaneously setting up stuff for the coming weeks heading into the big CW premiere on October 1st. Perez vs. Giulia and Page vs. Williams look to be locks on that show, but next week's "WWE Week" episode is exciting on paper as well. 

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