WWE NXT: Roadblock Review - March 5, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Dijak def. Joe Gacy in an Asylum Match

WWE did only one Asylum match back at Extreme Rules 2016 between Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho (it was actually called Ambrose Asylum) and it was... interesting. It's cool that NXT revived the stipulation for one night because it fit this feud and they made the most of it by utilizing as many weapons as they had available to them. I feel like I see at least one or two garbage matches a week in wrestling at this point, but I applaud their effort. I fully figured Gacy was winning, so I was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. A rubber match is probably likely, but I'd prefer to see Dijak move on while he's ahead.

NXT Tag Team Champions Bron Breakker and Bron Breakker def. Chase U (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson)

Chase U's popularity peaked a while ago, arguably when they won the tag titles the first time last year. I didn't really care to see them win here, but there was a chance they would with Breakker now being on the SmackDown roster. I'm glad that didn't happen and Breakker and Corbin will walk into WrestleMania weekend as tag champs instead. This was good stuff as all four guys worked well together.

Shawn Spears def. Uriah Connors

Spears' updated entrance is badass. He's not using the same Josiah Williams song he did in AEW, but this new theme is still pretty good. It remains to be seen how well his dark character in NXT and if he'll have any success this time around, but it's worth a shot and the inexperienced talent can certainly learn from him. The problem with his feud with Ridge Holland is that Spears is clearly favored over Holland despite being the heel.

WWE Women's Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors def. Tatum Paxley and NXT Women's Champion Lyra Valkyria

Valkyria and Paxley have turned into a fun pairing, so this was a nice match despite the predictable outcome (Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark were already announced as getting a title shot on next Monday's Raw). At least the belts were defended on NXT for a change. Roxanne Perez brutally attacking Vakyria afterward has to cement her heel turn, right? I'm looking forward to their rematch at Stand & Deliver.

Fallon Henley def. Sol Ruca

This stemmed from a confrontation they had backstage earlier in the episode. Davenport has been off NXT TV for weeks and Henley has lost most of the momentum she had following her feud with Tiffany Stratton, so this was a bit of a cold match despite being well worked. It became clear by the end that it only existed so Sol Ruca could return and cost Davenport the win. In storyline, it was Davenport who put Ruca on the shelf last year, so that's a logical rivalry to do now that she's back.

William Regal Confronted No Quarter Catch Crew

The promo from No Quarter Catch Crew was decent and I liked how they followed up on Charlie Dempsey winning the (pointless) NXT Heritage Cup Championship last week. But the segment instantly became newsworthy once Regal, Dempsey's father, showed up, marking his first in-person appearance on WWE TV since late 2021 if my memory serves me correctly. That was sick. I doubt he and Dempsey will do much more together going forward, but I'd love to see Regal serve as his manager. Anything to get Regal back on TV in a regular role.

Tony D'Angelo def. Carmelo Hayes in an NXT Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I know D'Angelo entering the main event scene came out of nowhere, but he's more than competent in this role and I thought he held his own just fine here. They had a quality main event. D'Angelo challenging for the NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver is refreshing, but he needs credibility. Beating Hayes gives him some, but him winning clean and not off a distraction would've been better. Trick Williams returned afterward to attack Hayes and set up their match as well.

Overall Show

This was one of the most newsworthy special editions of NXT that I can remember. Williams returned, Regal made a surprise appearance, Spears had his first match back, we had an Asylum match in the opener, the NXT Tag Team Championship was defended, and Kabuki Warriors were in action. All of that to say, this was a very enjoyable episode and I appreciated that there was strong build for Stand & Deliver, too. NXT TV would benefit from featuring more meaningful stuff like this show did.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews