The John Report: WWE NXT 01/14/25 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured Nathan Frazier & Axiom defending Tag Team Titles against OTM, plus the new NXT Champion Oba Femi speaks, and more.
Last week’s NXT New Year’s Evil episode was eventful since Oba Femi won the NXT Title, Giulia won the NXT Women’s Title and Lexis King won the NXT Heritage Cup. Plus, The Rock appeared on NXT for the first time, said some curse words, and thanked the fans for supporting the company. That was in LA and now it’s back to the WWE PC in Orlando this week.
I will do a review that is summary style for most of the show and then full play-by-play for one or two matches.
They are at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando for this week’s show. Follow me on Twitter/X @johnreport, friend me on Facebook, or chat with me on the Bluesky App as well. Let’s get to it.
A video package aired with highlights of NXT New Year’s Evil from last week.
Let’s Hear from Oba Femi
Oba Femi said that all of this belongs to him because he’s the Ruler and he will rule NXT. Femi said that Trick Williams has a ceiling while Femi has no ceiling. Femi said that Eddy Thorpe is a real piece of work who is like a cockroach that won’t die. Femi said that Eddy is like gum on a shoe that won’t go away. Femi issued a warning to Thorpe, but there was an interruption.
Tony D’Angelo interrupted with the NXT North American Championship. Tony congratulated Femi on the victory because he’s in the big seat now. Tony reminded Femi that he took the NXT North American Title from Femi. Tony told Femi that he is the Ruler for now, but Tony is the one man who defeated him. Tony said that when he comes after that championship, he’ll walk out as the Double Title Don.
Femi mentioned that Tony got his ass dropped by Santa Claus. Femi told Tony to worry about that NXT North American Champion and leave Femi alone. Tony said he’ll take care of Ridge Holland, so here comes Ridge Holland.
Ridge had a photo of his attack on Tony D when Ridge was dressed as Santa Claus. Tony said that’s nice and he wanted to go sign it for him. Tony and Ridge went fighting to the back.
Eddy Thorpe attacked Oba Femi in the ring. Thorpe knocked Femi down and hit him with a DDT. Thorpe had a leather strap with him and Thorpe punched Femi in the back of the head with the leather strap. The fans booed while Thorpe held up the NXT Title.
Analysis: It was a confident babyface champion promo from Oba Femi. The fans interrupt his promos way too much with the chanting. I get why it’s done but save it for the entrance song and not for his promos because it looks like it throws the guy off when he’s trying to talk. Anyway, the cheap attack by Thorpe shows that he’s still in the NXT Title mix. They obviously have a Tony D/Ridge feud brewing as well. The tease of a future Tony D/Oba match is fine with me because I liked their matches in the past.
There was a men’s locker room scene where Oro Mensah was talking to Dante Chen when Ethan Page walked in. Oro left while Page mentioned he had an interaction with The Rock last week. Page said he can smell the jealousy in the locker room. Page bragged about breaking Je’Von Evans’ jaw, so Chen shoved Page. Chen said he’ll talk to Ava about getting a match made. While this was going on, Andre Chase was looking sad by his locker.
Analysis: A simple way to set up a Page/Chen match.
Stephanie Vaquer made her entrance for singles action.
(Commercial)
The commentary team was Vic Joseph and Booker T. No Corey Graves this week after he was there last week because of some complaints he had and he was sent home. It doesn’t seem like an angle, but in WWE it may be.
Shotzi vs. Stephanie Vaquer
The winner gets a shot at Fallon Henley’s NXT Women’s North American Title in two weeks on NXT in Atlanta.
I’m watching on Netflix and there was no commentary for the first two minutes, but then it fixed and we could hear them. Vaquer hit an impressive arm drag and then each woman got a pin attempt. Shotzi connected with an enziguri kick. Vaquer took control after a dragon screw leg whip followed by Vaquer’s double knee head ramming spot. Shotzi rolled out to the floor as the show went to break.
(Commercial)
It was Shotzi in control with moves like a top rope hurricanrana. Vaquer came back with an Eat Defeat boot to the face. Shotzi avoided a Vaquer move leading to Shotzi hitting a cannonball against the turnbuckle. Shotzi nearly won with a Tiger Suplex for two. Vaquer gave Shotzi a hiptoss into the turnbuckle and Meteora double knees for two. Jacy Jayne went to ringside, so Vaquer and Shotzi brought Jayne into the ring leading to a double headbutt on Jayne. The referee checked on Jayne, so Fallon Henley hit Vaquer with the Women’s NA Title to the back (the referee didn’t see it) and Shotzi did a ROLUP OF DEATH~! on Vaquer with a bridging pin for the pinfall win. It went about 11 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Shotzi
Analysis: ***1/4 A cheap win by Shotzi, who is a babyface like Vaquer, but Shotzi benefitted from the heels Henley and Jayne costing Vaquer the match. It puts over the idea that Henley didn’t want to face Vaquer. I think that should lead to Vaquer facing Henley at the February PLE Vengeance Day and perhaps Vaquer will beat Henley for the title there, but maybe they save it for Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend. Anyway, I thought Shotzi and Vaquer worked well together. It was an even matchup most of the way and could have gone either way.
In two weeks on NXT in Atlanta, Fallon Henley will defend the NXT Women’s North American Champion against Shotzi.
Some of the wrestlers in the women’s division were talking backstage when Zaria told Kelani Jordan to use her losses as motivation. Cora Jade trash talked Jordan saying she’ll win a title before Jordan wins another one. Jade said that Jordan is the same little girl from Michigan State, so Jordan slapped Jade and said: “I’m not the same girl.” Jordan left.
Analysis: They are trying to give Kelani Jordan more of an edge since she’s perceived as a nice girl who is always happy. Jordan has been frustrated by losses, so she took out on Jade with that slap to the face.
(Commercial)
Oba Femi talked to the NXT GM Ava in her office while Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner. Femi said that he wanted to give Eddy Thorpe a NXT Title shot. Ava said that he didn’t deserve it. Mr. Stone told Femi to not let Thorpe play him. Femi picked up Stone against the wall saying that if he wants to get Eddy then he’ll get Eddy. Ava told Femi if he wants Eddy then he can get him next week. Femi put Stone down and left.
Analysis: I like segments like that to give us a reason why Thorpe would get a shot at Femi even though Thorpe didn’t deserve it. Femi wanted the match to make Thorpe pay for what he did to him and Ava was willing to do it.
Ethan Page vs. Dante Chen
Page attacked Chen while Chen was finishing his entrance. Chen got some offense with a running kick to the head. Page pulled the tights to send Chen throat first into the middle rope. Page hit a Diamond Cutter for the pinfall win after less than two minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ethan Page
Analysis: *1/4 A dominant win for Page over Chen, who is not used on television that much. The Diamond Cutter finish is a new thing for Page, who has used Ego’s Edge in the past.
After the match, Page punched Chen a few times. Page took the boot off of Page’s right foot. Page trapped Chen’s right foot behind the steel steps. Page yelled at Chen to stay out of his business. Page kicked the steel steps, so Chen was freaking out. Vic said that Page should be arrested while Page said this is business. Referees and the medical team showed up to check on Chen.
Je’Von Evans showed up and nailed Page with punches. The fans loved seeing back. They were fighting in the ring where Page hit Evans with a jab to the jaw. Page told Evans to smile now. Page was bleeding from the mouth again, so there was likely a capsule or something to make it look like blood. Page told Evans to smile for him.
Analysis: It furthers the story of Ethan Page doing cheap attacks to injure guys like Je’Von Evans, Cedric Alexander and now Dante Chen. Je’Von Evans got a huge pop for his return, but then Page hit him in the jaw and it showed that Evans was not ready to return yet. I like how this story is going with Page continuing to get heat while Evans obviously has a bright future and this is becoming a personal rivalry for them.
A commercial aired for the Royal Rumble on February 1st in Indianapolis.
(Commercial)
Oba Femi was shown walking with the NXT Title on his shoulder. Dion Lennox talked to Femi saying that one day he’s going to challenge him for that title. Femi walked away.
Shawn Spears was talking to Adrianna Rizzo when Izzi Dame walked up to him saying that she didn’t need him and neither did Rizzo. Spears said he’s not sure about that. Dame walked away.
Karmen Petrovic was backstage with Ashante Thee Adonis, who handed her a rose. They talked about getting together officially, so Karmen gave him a quick kiss on the left. They walked away.
Analysis: That’s three different backstage interactions involving seven people. Lennox’s prediction for Femi seems like a long shot now, but maybe NXT has a plan to use Lennox more this year. The Karmen/Adonis teenage love story has proceeded to the kiss part. Good for them. At least it’s some story progression.
A video aired about Giulia beating Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship last week on New Year’s Evil. Giulia thanked the fans for supporting her. They showed Giulia interacting with Triple H, Shawn Michaels and the Rock after her big win. Giulia returns next Tuesday.
Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson from Meta-Four were up next for tag team action.
(Commercial)
The WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY – Tommaso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Ciampa said that people say that Fraxiom are the best team in WWE. Gargano said that they wanted to see what Fraxiom is capable of. Ciampa said that they aren’t there to cause any problems and you can trust them.
Analysis: Good to see the #DIY boys back in NXT at least for a week. I believe they live in the Orlando area (I watch Gargano’s YouTube channel sometimes), so it’s not a long trip for them.
Meta-Girls – Lash Legend vs. Jakara Jackson vs. Unholy Union – Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn
Fyre and Jackson started with Jackson hitting a dropkick. Lash tagged in with a shoulder tackle on Dawn. Jackson hit a running neckbreaker along with a handstand elbow. Lash slammed Jackson onto Dawn for two. Fyre grabbed Lash by the hair as Fyre and Dawn took control at that point. Lash managed to fight off both opponents. Jackson went on Lash’s shoulders and Fyre stopped that so it sent Jackson into the turnbuckle. Dawn hit double knees on Jackson on the floor. After Fyre sent Lash on the floor, Fyre hit a dive off the top onto both opponents on the floor.
(Commercial)
Lash was dominating with a fallaway slam on Dawn across the ring. Lash gave Fyre a Chokeslam for a two count because Dawn made the save. Jackson was legal and she jumped off Lash’s shoulders with a double cross body block for two. Dawn and Fyre hit a double team backstabber/senton bomb for two because Lash broke up the pin. Jakara hit a neckbreaker on Dawn. Lash made a blind tag, Lash kicked Dawn and Lash/Jakara hit a sitout reverse Powerbomb/neckbreaker double team move on Fyre for the pinfall win. It went about 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Meta-Girls – Lash Legend vs. Jakara Jackson
Analysis: ***1/4 This was an entertaining match that was given plenty of time. It made sense for the Meta Girls to win since they have been a team on the rise in recent months while Unholy Union are former Women’s Tag Team Champions. I also don’t mind Lash & Jakara as babyfaces because they are easy to like and root for. Great finish to the match with the sitout Powerbomb/neckbreaker for the win. Cool move for the win.
The win for Lash & Jakara means they’ll get a shot at the Women’s Tag Team Titles.
Lexis King was backstage with the NXT Heritage Cup while Ava congratulated him. Charlie Dempsey congratulated Lexis for the win and Wren Sinclair complained about King hitting him low. King said it was an accident. Wren started a “rematch” chant. Ava suggested Dempsey deserves a rematch. There was a crash noise against the garage door, so Ava went outside to see Tony D fighting with Ridge outside. The security guys were there to break it up.
Analysis: It sounds like there will be another King-Dempsey match. It has happened several times in recent months.
Kelani Jordan entered for singles action.
A commercial aired about Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 25th in San Antonio.
(Commercial)
They showed TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich in the crowd with her title. When Cora Jade made her entrance, she stared at Masha so maybe that’s a tease of a future match.
Cora Jade vs. Kelani Jordan
Jordan was aggressive with punches, Jade ran away and Jordan ran around the ring to chase her. Back in the ring, Jordan hit a running cross body block. Jade trapped Jordan against the ropes leading to a dropkick. Jade hit a running knee for two. Jordan hit a belly-to-back suplex. Jordan hit some running forearms along with a sitout DDT for two. Jordan held the arms leading to aggressive stomps like Bryan Danielson. Jordan did some more kicking and punching against the turnbuckle, so the referee held her back. Jade raked Jordan in the face and Jade hit a double arm DDT for the pinfall win. It went about five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Cora Jade
Analysis: **1/2 This was a solid match that continues the story of Jordan being on a bit of a losing streak. The heel Jade did a face rake for the win. I’m happy for Jade getting the win because she loses far too much in NXT. I’m not sure if Jordan is turning heel, but it might happen since she’s been doing this angle where she’s frustrated about losing, so she wants to be more aggressive.
Eddy Thorpe was shown in a video on Instagram laughing about what he did to Oba Femi earlier in the night. Thorpe mentioned it was a full moon. Thorpe said he set the bait again, Oba took it again and it’s so easy and predictable. Thorpe gave Ava a shoutout for making the match happen while adding that it almost makes up for her calling him a liar last week. Thorpe said all will be well when he’s crowned the new NXT Champion. Thorpe said next week the ruler Femi will be overthrown. Thorpe said he’ll go celebrate.
Analysis: It’s fine to show promos like that sometimes. The lighting was obviously bad since it was outside, but I like how candid it was rather than doing a typical wrestling interview.
A video aired showing WWE’s support for the American Red Cross to help victims of the wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
The team of Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura approached NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom backstage. Briggs said that they saved the champions during a brawl in the parking lot. Briggs said that they have their attention now, so Briggs said that they have next. OTM walked up to Frazer & Axiom saying they won’t be the champions after tonight. OTM said they aren’t giving up the titles when they get them. Frazer & Axiom left. OTM argued with Briggs & Inamura, so they got into a brawl that was quickly broken up.
(Commercial)
The next NXT Premium Live Event will be Vengeance Day on Saturday, February 15th. Smackdown is in Washington the night before that.
An X/Twitter comment from former NXT Champion Trick Williams was shown on screen: “Need to figure out what my next move is gonna be.”
Analysis: I can see them going with Oba Femi against Trick Williams at Vengeance Day. It makes sense to do that as a singles match. It’s also possible that Trick is in the Royal Rumble and is on the main roster after that. He’s ready, I think.
NXT Tag Team Championships: Nathan Frazer & Axiom vs. OTM – Lucien Price & Bronco Nima
I don’t like using the “Fraxiom” name for the champions. It is not an official name. It’s just a nickname. OTM stands for Out The Mud in case you don’t know. There was no Jaida Parker with them. Anyway, I’ll go play-by-play here.
The challengers were in control early on as WWE Tag Team Champions #DIY – Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa were on the podium watching the match. Nima worked over Frazer with shoulder tackles. Nima jumped off the top with a stomp to the chest while Price made the tag for his team. Frazer hit a jumping kick on legal man Price. Axiom tagged in leading to a DDT by Frazer and Axiom hitting a jumping kick. Axiom charged right at Price, who nailed a massive clothesline that led to Axiom doing a flip bump.
(Commercial)
Price was in control of Axiom with a clothesline against the turnbuckle. Vic mentioned a picture-in-picture break, which should be shown on the Netflix version instead of slow-motion graphics, but we don’t get them. Anyway, Axiom fought back with a cross body block on Nima, who caught him. Axiom countered Nima with a crucifix pin attempt for two. Frazer tagged in with forearms and a jumping DDT on Price. Frazer hit a jumping kick on Nima. Frazer hit a running SSP on Price for two. Frazer went up top with a twisting attack, but Price voided it and Price hit a huge spinebuster. Nima hit a reverse slam onto the body for a two count because Axiom broke up the pin. Frazer hit a jumping forearm on Nima and a kick on Price. Axiom tagged in with a jumping kick. Axiom hit a missile dropkick/sweep kick combo for a two count. Axiom applied an armbar submission on Price. Frazer hit a suicide dive onto Nima on the floor. Frazer jumped onto Nima with a guillotine, but Nima and Price powered out of the submissions. Nima suplexed Frazer onto Axiom and Price, so all four guys were down. Price stopped a running Axiom with a hard chop to the chest. Frazer was legal, he jumped onto Price and Price slammed Frazer onto Axiom with a uranage-style move. Nima tagged in with a spinning slam off the shoulder while Price delivered a kick and it only got a two count for Nima on Frazer. Price worked over Axiom with chops on the floor. Price cleared off the commentary table. Axiom fought back with a jumping kick on Price. Frazer had Nima set up on the turnbuckle, Axiom made the tag and Axiom hit a kick to the head. Frazer jumped off the top and hit a Superfly Splash off the top onto Price through the commentary table. Axiom hit a Spanish Fly slam off the top. Axiom hit the Golden Ratio kick on Nima for the pinfall win after 13 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Nathan Frazer & Axiom
Analysis: ***1/2 That was a great match as usual for Frazer & Axiom, who were my 2024 WWE Tag Team of the Year in my Johnny Awards. It might be the best OTM regular tag team match I’ve seen and that’s not a slight on them. They just don’t get many matches that go this long. The same thing happened when Axiom & Frazer had an incredible match with Borne & Heights recently. I thought that OTM could win this match because Axiom & Frazer have had such a long title reign, but I certainly have no problems with Axiom & Frazer getting the win. Great showing by OTM in defeat. Perhaps they will get the titles at some point this year. I’d like to see that.
After the match, Frazer & Axiom stared at #DIY on the podium.
Analysis: That tag team match will be incredible whenever it happens.
Roxanne Perez was shown walking backstage for a promo up next. A car was shown driving to the building and they showed some shoes walking. We will find out who it is after a break.
(Commercial)
Next week on NXT:
* NXT North American Championship: Tony D’Angelo vs. Ridge Holland
* NXT Championship: Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe
Analysis: Two big singles titles on the same show. Those are big matches, but I doubt either of them will lead to a title change.
Let’s Hear from Roxanne Perez
Roxanne Perez was in the ring talking about how she held the NXT Women’s Title for 276 days and she had nine title defenses. Perez said that all she ever wanted to do was make women’s wrestling special. Perez said she wanted a women’s division that could main event and she thinks that they have done that. Perez said that they have attracted the best women from all around the world because it’s the best women’s division in wrestling today. Perez said she stands here without her title because last week, Giulia was the better woman. Perez said as sad as it makes her, it’s what the fans wanted. Some fans disagreed with that. Perez said what’s sadder is the state of the women’s division without her as champion. Perez said that nobody is going to love this women’s division more than here. Perez spoke about how without her, this women’s division would be lost. Perez claimed that NXT doesn’t deserve her and the fans don’t deserve her. Perez said in the past, you needed the Four Horsewomen and this generation only needs one…and here comes Bayley.
The mention of the Four Horsewomen was made and that led to Bayley making a surprising entrance to a huge ovation. The fans popped huge for former NXT Women’s Champion Bayley, who joined Perez in the ring. The fans chanted “welcome back” to Bayley.
Bayley thanked the fans for the love. Bayley said she knew Perez would be upset about her title loss at New Year’s Evil. Bayley said that Perez can act how she is acting right now, or adapt to the situation. Perez said she wasn’t asking for her advice. Bayley said that she asked for advice when they first met when Perez was 14 years old in Austin, Texas. Bayley said that she believed in Perez since day one. Bayley said that the division would be fine without her. Bayley mentioned Kelani, Jaida, Cora and they’ll all be fine without her. Bayley said that the title reign was amazing. Perez said that you’re like Natalya and CM Punk trying to tell her the same things that they said. Perez said that Bayley is like everybody that Perez used to look up to. Perez said that Bayley set records, but Perez broke them. Perez said that Bayley was her role model, but Perez thinks she could be Bayley’s role model. Bayley said that Perez will be stuck here in her own way while Bayley is going on to WrestleMania after she wins the title from Tiffany Stratton this Friday. Perez slapped Bayley in the face, so Bayley tripped her up and they exchanged punches. The show ended there.
Analysis: It was the usual cocky heel promo from Perez. She did very well as a heel champion during her reign after her first run in NXT as a babyface. I thought Bayley showing up was a nice surprise and the fans treated Bayley as a big deal because it wasn’t advertised. It’s probably going to lead to a Bayley-Perez match, which a lot of people want to see. Perhaps we’ll see Perez cost Bayley her match against Stratton to accelerate this feud even more. Perez is probably going to be on the main roster this year either starting with the Royal Rumble or perhaps after WrestleMania season. Roxanne has a very bright future in WWE obviously and working with a veteran like Bayley will help establish Perez as a threat for the years ahead.
The fight between Bayley and Perez continued for a bit longer after the show went off the air. Check out the full clip here.
Take a look back at the entire unexpected interaction between @roxanne_wwe and @itsBayleyWWE and EVERYTHING that happened when NXT went off the air. #WWENXTpic.twitter.com/iXnCDRVJab
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
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Three Stars of the Show
- Nathan Frazer & Axiom and OTM
- Bayley & Roxanne Perez
- Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7.25 out of 10
Last week: 8
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
I liked the show for the most part. Last week was obviously a bigger episode with the title changes and more star power, but there was a lot to like here. I like the tease of Frazer/Axiom against #DIY and Bayley facing off against Perez too.
The women’s division was featured heavily throughout the show, which I seem to write every week about NXT because they utilize the women’s division more than any brand in pro wrestling. The Meta Girls team of Lash & Jakara did a great job in their match. I liked the Shotzi/Vaquer match a lot too. The finish was controversial, but it builds to Vaquer against Henley in the future.
There are also two title matches next week, so that should be good because those matches have been built up well with Femi wanting revenge on Thorpe while D’Angelo and Holland has become a personal feud as well.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport