WWE NXT Vengeance Day Review - February 15, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Stephanie Vaquer def. Fallon Henley to Win the NXT Women's North American Championship

I haven't been a fan of the Fatal Influence stable, but Henley has been a consistent bright spot with her in-ring work. She and Vaquer put together an entertaining opener that the crowd was hot for. Henley had a decent run as champion, but Vaquer taking the title was the right call. I don't know about the rest of Fatal Influence, but Henley belongs on the main roster if they can find a spot for her.

NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer def. Yoshiki Inamura and Josh Briggs

Axiom and Frazer are the best tag team in the business today. You can't convince me otherwise. Meanwhile, Inamura and Briggs just started teaming in NXT yet they already have strong chemistry together. Thus, this was a great match with some really enjoyable action. The new faction of masked men (who have been shown in recent vignettes on NXT TV) attacked all four guys afterward. Hopefully Axiom and Frazer face TNA's The Hardys at Stand & Deliver and not two of the guys from that group.

Eddy Thorpe def. Trick Williams in a Strap Match

Thorpe hasn't been someone I've particularly cared about a whole ton in the last year or so, but to his credit, he's come into his own as a heel and gets good heat from the crowd. Strap matches aren't my favorite, but at least this one didn't have the stupid lights at each turnbuckle corner that the wrestlers had to hit. They made the most of it and had a solid, physical affair. Thorpe winning was genuinely surprising and I'm curious what the endgame with him is supposed to be as I figured Williams would win ahead of his anticipated NXT Championship match with Oba Femi at Stand & Deliver. I assume that's still the plan, but perhaps they wanted to give Thorpe a big victory and Williams more adversity to overcome.

Ethan Page def. Je'Von Evans

This feud has quietly been NXT's best over the last two months and they worked as well together as you'd expect. They told a simple story with Evans fighting from underneath with his injured jaw only to narrowly fall short in the end. I'm sure they could do even better, which is why I'm glad Page went over clean to extend their rivalry. The blow-off should be some sort of a stipulation match at Stand & Deliver.

NXT Champion Oba Femi def. Austin Theory and Grayson Waller in a Triple Threat Match

Did anyone honestly believe that A-Town Down Under had a shot in hell of dethroning Femi? The answer is no, but I knew this could deliver based on the talent involved alone. The first half was standard stuff, but it turned into a top-notch Triple Threat by the second half. It's impossible to care about all the teasing of tension between Theory and Waller because they've been hinting at a split for ages, but the match was well wrestled and well paced. Post-match, the masked men reemerged to lay out Femi. So far, they look like a knockoff Retribution/Shield, but I'm willing to give it a chance.

NXT Women's Champion Giulia def. Roxanne Perez, Bayley and Cora Jade in a Fatal 4-Way Match

I'm happy WWE did the right thing by having the women go on last, especially since it was the best bout of the night. While I maintain that Jade was not needed in this match, it was a very fun four-way, regardless. Perez and Jade's alliance was short-lived, Bayley's level of experience helped a lot, and there never seemed to be a dull moment. Giulia retaining was the only outcome that made sense and Perez eating the loss must mean she's either done in NXT or will be very soon. Jordynne Grace interrupting Giulia and Vaquer's championship celebration at the end was a cool moment as well.

Overall Show

I'd put this in the same category as most other NXT premium live events from the last year in that it was a quality show but not must-see. If you tuned in, you were rewarded, but you don't have to go back and watch it in its entirety. Make time for the main event and maybe the tag title match, but it was your average offering from the NXT brand otherwise. That's far from a bad thing, but it was a predictable card and my guess is that they're saving some of their bigger matches and moments for Stand & Deliver. On a side note, Ricky Starks did not appear, but it was announced that he'll be on Tuesday's show to sign his official NXT contract.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews, NXT PLE Reviews