The John Report: WWE NXT 12/31/24 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured some Year-End Awards, a big triple threat tag team match, Lola Vice against Kelani Jordan, and more.
Happy New Year, my friends. This week’s NXT episode was taped about two weeks ago to give the talent and crew a break.
Since it’s the holiday season, I’m going to do a summary review where I write a summary of the matches before doing the analysis. I’ll do 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.
The commentary team was Vic Joseph and Booker T as usual.
Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice
Vice was in control in the first few minutes with armbars, kicks, and a running hip attack against the turnbuckle. They went into the break with Jordan selling on the floor. Back from break, Vice was still in control with suplexes. Jordan hit a nice jumping kick to the head. Vice countered a Jordan move and applied a sleeper, but Jordan got out of it. Cora Jade showed up on the apron, Jordan pushed Vice into Jade to knock Jade down and Jordan did a bridging pin on Vice to win the match. This went about 10 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Kelani Jordan
Analysis: *** They had a pretty good match with a cheap finish due to Cora Jade showing up. I liked the intensity shown by both women. Jordan’s pinning move was impressive while Vice kicked out right after three to show that it was close.
After the match, Jade beat up Jordan and Vice with a kendo stick. Stephanie Vaquer went to the ring to stop Jade’s attack. Vice went for a spinning back fist on Jade, who moved, and Vice hit Vaquer by accident. Jade was laughing about it.
Analysis: This set up a four-way match for next week.
The start of the NXT Awards was next.
NXT Awards – Match of the Year: Oba Femi vs. Josh Briggs vs. Dijak at Stand & Deliver
They showed Josh Briggs saying it was special to win the match of the year. Briggs thanked everybody who voted and said that the award meant a lot to all three of them. Briggs said he had something special for the tag team division and said there better be a cool trophy for this.
Analysis: Great choice for a winner. I thought that was probably the best NXT match of the year.
A video aired about NXT New Year’s Evil on January 7th featuring the Fatal Influence trio.
There was a video featuring Giulia talking in Japanese about her match against Roxanne Perez next week. Her comments were translated on the screen. Giulia wants to become the champion like so many future Hall of Famers who held the NXT Women’s Title in the past.
NXT Awards – Moment of the Year: Joe Hendry Arrives
Joe Hendry of TNA Wrestling thanked the fans for voting for him as the Moment of the Year. Joe said it was special because of the reception he got from the fans. Joe said that “say his name and he appears means anywhere, any time, any show.”
Analysis: The fans love Joe Hendry and I think that’s a great choice for a winner for this award. I thought Trick Williams winning the NXT Title might win this award, but I certainly don’t mind Hendry winning this kind of award.
Immediately after Joe spoke, a graphic promoted Raw’s Netflix debut on January 6th.
Analysis: Since WWE put that Raw graphic there right after Hendry spoke, it has led to people speculating that Hendry could be on Raw. I don’t know if that’s the plan, but it’s certainly a possibility.
Cedric Alexander was interviewed by Sarah Schreiber about Ethan Page injuring Je’Von Evans two weeks ago. Page stomped on a chair on Evans’ mouth, so the story is that Evans might have a broken jaw. Cedric said that Evans’ jaw was wired shut, so they communicated by text and said he’s worried about Evans having to drink through a straw, so he’s thinking about his quality of life. Cedric said Evans sent a message about getting revenge on Page. That led to Ethan Page showing up to tell Cedric he’ll put him right next to Evans. Cedric and Ethan were fighting backstage and then the fight took them out to the ringside area. They went to break and came back with the match.
Ethan Page vs. Cedric Alexander
Cedric was aggressive early on, he sent Page out of the ring and Cedric hit a suicide dive onto Page on the floor. Page hit a Codebreaker-like move for a two count. Cedric hit a Michinoku Driver for a two count. Page nailed a big boot to the face followed by a Diamond Cutter for the pinfall.
Winner by pinfall: Ethan Page
Analysis: **1/2 A decisive win by Page under five minutes. Cedric is there to be an ally/mentor of Evans and he doesn’t really win matches very often in NXT. Page normally wins with Ego’s Edge, so using a Diamond Cutter is a bit of a surprise.
After the match, Page threw Cedric into the steel steps. Page slammed Cedric’s left hand against the side of a toolbox that was under the ring. Referees and the medical team were there to check on Cedric.
Analysis: They had that story for a few months where Page was sad about losing, but that has led to him becoming a vicious heel. I like him in that role.
The teams of Hank & Tank and Tyson & Tyriek were talking about their issues backstage. Shawn Spears said that they need a sense of direction. Wes Lee walked in saying they don’t need direction from him. Spears left. Tank said you guys are going to listen to Lee after all he’s done. Lee said they were down a man and left. Tank asked Hank who they were going to find as a partner. We’ll find out later.
Shotzi & Gigi Dolin (w/Tatum Paxley) vs. Meta-Four – Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson vs. Kayden Carter & Katana Chance
The team of Carter & Chance are on Raw, but they are here on NXT for this match. I’ll go play-by-play for this match.
Carter and Dolin started the match while the other four women were on the apron. Lash tagged in, Carter jumped on her with a submission attempt and Lash came back with a gentle body slam followed by a splash. Carter hit a dropkick on Lash. Chance tagged in, Carter hit a superkick and Chance hit a senton splash to Lash’s back. Shotzi tagged in with double knees on Lash and Jackson tagged in with a double underhook suplex. Shotzi hit a running back elbow on Jackson and Dolin tagged in to send Jackson against the ropes. Shotzi tagged in with a splash on Jackson while Dolin hit a running dropkick on Jackson. Shotzi applied a Texas Cloverleaf submission, but Jackson got out of it. Carter tagged in with a running boot on Shotzi and a punch on Dolin. Chance hit a cross body block on Shotzi and Dolin on the floor. Chance sent Lash out of the ring. Chance and Carter each hit running dives onto the other four women on the floor. They went to break there.
Dolin was in control of Lash with some kicks to the back of the neck. Lash punched Dolin and Carter tagged in. Carter nailed a superkick and Chance tagged in for a double team handstand splash on Lash, but the other women were there to break up the pin at two. Jackson hit a missile dropkick on Chance. Carter got the tag and Carter sent Chance onto Jackson, who got her knees up to block. Jackson hit a dropkick. Shotzi and Dolin each made quick tags for a double team neckbreaker that led to Dolin getting a two count. Shotzi went for a suicide dive on Chance, but she came up short on the dive and Shotzi hit the floor hard. The referee checked on Shotzi. Dolin punched Chance off the apron. Jackson hit a neckbreaker on Dolin. Lash tagged in, put Jackson on her shoulders and Jackson jumped onto four women on the floor. Dolin hit a Crucifix Bomb on Lash for two. Jazmyn Nyx went on the apron and the referee was looking at her, so Jacy Jayne was on the other side to knock Dolin off the turnbuckle. Lash did a pump kick to Dolin. Jackson tagged in and the Meta Girls hit a sitout slam/Cutter combo and Jackson covered Dolin for the win. It went 11 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson
Analysis: ***1/4 I thought it was a very good match that was entertaining and full of action. That dive by Shotzi was scary because she came up short and hit the floor, but I’m glad she was okay. It was a smart move to use Chance & Carter for this match because they are such a talented team. Dolin & Shotzi had a lot of chemistry as a new team. I’m happy for the Meta Girls getting the win (even though it was cheap) because Lash & Jakara are a team that could certainly be Women’s Tag Team Champions in 2025.
After the match, Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn appeared on the screen mentioning that they had beaten Lash & Jakara in the past and they had no problem beating them again.
Lola Vice was shown backstage talking to Stephanie Vaquer when Kelani Jordan approached them. Vice said she didn’t mean to hit Vaquer. Jordan said that last week they were telling Jordan to calm down and look at them now. Vice said that she was going for Jade. Jordan said that they deserved it. The three women argued off screen.
Cora Jade was watching the chaos, so NXT GM Ava told Jade that she was in a four-way match next week. It’s Jade vs. Vice vs. Jordan vs. Vaquer and the winner gets a shot at the NXT Women’s North American Title.
Lexis King, the NXT Heritage Cup holder, was backstage with Charlie Dempsey and William Regal and they were talking to NXT GM Ava. Ava said that King won the Cup by DQ, so it was done in a debatable way. Due to that, Ava decided that at New Year’s Evil, it would be King against Dempsey in a sudden death, one fall match. Regal said he doesn’t want anything to do with this. Ava took the NXT Heritage Cup and gave it to Dempsey, who left. King said he did nothing wrong.
Analysis: That was a confusing bit. You can lose the Heritage Cup by DQ, yet Ava just took it away from King and gave it back to Dempsey. I wonder if this will lead to King cheating to win because he will realize that doing the right thing doesn’t lead to success, so that will set up an underhanded victory of sorts.
NXT Awards – Tag Team of the Year: Nathan Frazer & Axiom
The NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom were interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Frazer said they could never imagine what this turned into. Axiom said that they have won the titles, kicked eachother, lost the titles, and got them back. Frazer said that he would never have it another way. OTM’s Lucien Price & Bronco Nima showed up to warn the champions that they were coming for the titles.
Analysis: That was an easy choice. Frazer & Axiom were the best team in all of WWE in 2024. They got my WWE Johnny Award for Best Tag Team as well.
Sol Ruca was shown talking to Zaria backstage about their failed attempt as a team. Sol left for her match up next.
Izzi Dame vs. Sol Ruca
The announcers were bickering with Booker thanking the fans for winning Commentator of the Year, which wasn’t an actual award. Sol did her surfboard spot on Dame against the turnbuckle. Dame took control after doing a hard chop to the chest. Shawn Spears was shown watching from the platform in the back part of the arena. Zaria went down to ringside to watch while Dame hit a spinning suplex. Sol went for a springboard splash, but Dame got her knees up to block. Sol hit an X-Factor, so Dame went to the floor. Sol went up top, Dame pulled Zaria in front of her and Sol hit a moonsault onto Zaria on the floor. Dame kicked Sol while on the floor. Back in the ring, Dame hit I-Dry which is like a Sky High and that was enough for the pinfall win after five minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Izzi Dame
Analysis: **1/2 I didn’t expect a win for Izzi Dame there, but it continues the story that Sol and Zaria can’t seem to be on the same page. It’s not a great story by any means. It should lead to a Sol-Zaria match soon.
Hank & Tank were backstage asking Andre Chase to be their tag team partner.
NXT Awards – Female Superstar of the Year: Roxanne Perez
The NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez was presented the award by Sarah Schreiber. Perez said she realized nobody here was on her level. Perez bragged about how she dropped a pipebomb on CM Punk too. Perez spoke about the women she beat in 2024. Perez said Giulia is a megastar and everybody thinks she’s the one to take Perez’s title from her, but unfortunately for Giulia, Perez is the one and the only one.
Analysis: Roxanne Perez was an obvious choice. Great year. I enjoyed her a lot more as a heel compared to her face run. I doubt she is on the NXT roster for all of 2025 because she’ll probably get moved to the main roster in the first half of the year.
Wes Lee, Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont vs. Andre Chase, Hank Ledger & Tank Walker
I don’t know if Lee, Tyriek & Tyson are officially a group, but it makes sense with Lee as a veteran mentor for this young team. Chase was wrestling in a white dress shirt since he can’t wear a Chase U sweater anymore. The heel side worked over Hank for a few minutes. After Tank hit a spinebuster on Lee, Hank and Chase cleared the ring. Hank & Tank did a double team splash on Lee while Chase hit a somersault dive onto Tyriek & Tyson on the floor. They went to break.
The trio of Lee, Tyriek & Tyson isolated Hank as the face in peril. They did a spot where Tyson & Tyriek launched Lee onto Hank with a dropkick. Hank came back with a suplex on Lee. Tank was on fire after getting the hot tag and hit a cartwheel clothesline on Tyriek. Chase was legal against Tyriek leading to a Russian legsweep, but Chase stopped himself from doing the Chase U stomp so Chase was sad. Chase tagged Hank in and Chase left. Lee was out of the ring and he hit a jumping kick on Hank. Tyriek picked up Hank on his shoulder leading to a Stunner for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Wes Lee, Tyriek Igwe & Tyson Dupont
Analysis: *** It was a solid match that gave Wes Lee’s new group a big win while also furthering the story that Andre Chase is sad about Chase U ending, so Chase’s actions cost his team the match. I think Lee having this team as backup could lead to Lee having some success as a singles heel in the future.
Ashante “Thee” Adonis was shown calling Karmen Petrovic saying the call went to voicemail. Adonis said he wanted to spend New Year’s with her. Nikkita Lyons walked in to invite Adonis to a New Year’s party. Adonis said if he can’t spend it with Karmen then he’ll spend it alone.
Analysis: The riveting high school romance story continues.
Shawn Spears spoke to Izzi Dame backstage about how she picked up a big win. Dame told Spears to leave her alone. Tony D’Angelo, the NXT North American Champion, told Spears to leave her alone. Dame left. Spears said last week he enjoyed Santa Claus beating up Tony. After Spears left, Tony said he’ll take care of Ridge Holland, who was dressed as Santa last week.
A video aired about NXT Male Wrestler of the Year nominees.
Andre Chase was approached backstage by a guy named Kale Dixon, who asked when the next semester started. Chase said Chase U is dead.
Next week on NXT New Year’s Evil in Los Angeles:
* NXT Women’s Title: Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia
* Heritage Cup Match Sudden Death Rules, One Fall: Charlie Dempsey vs. Lexis King
* Stephanie Vaquer vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice vs. Cora Jade
* Tatum Paxley, Shotzi & Gigi Dolin vs. Fatal Influence – Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx
* NXT Championship: Trick Williams vs. Eddy Thorpe vs. Oba Femi
Analysis: It’s a good lineup. I think Giulia is going to beat Roxanne Perez to become the NXT Women’s Champion. I think Trick Williams will retain in his match.
NXT Male Superstar Of The Year Presentation
The ring announcer Mike Rome was about to announce the winner of the NXT Male Superstar of the Year, but he was interrupted by Oba Femi. When Oba got into the ring, he took the award from Rome.
Femi said it didn’t matter who won the Male Superstar of the Year because it was a prop for a popularity contest. Femi said it doesn’t matter if you boo or cheer or chant “Hoo” because his performance remains the same. Femi told the fans that they don’t control anything while Femi said that he controls everything. Femi said he is the one who directs the ship and he’s the captain now. Femi told us to witness him become the NXT Champion at New Year’s Evil.
Trick Williams made his entrance as the NXT Champion. Trick told Femi he was telling the fans some lies while Trick said he sees no problem getting love from the fans. Trick said he appreciates the love from the fans. Trick said he knows that they have a triple threat match next week with Trick against Femi and Eddy Thorpe. Trick said he needed to get the job done. Trick said he knows Oba is the Ruler, the Destroyer, the King, Thanos Jr. and Trick thinks that Oba is beatable. Trick reminded Oba about how he lost the NXT North American Title to Tony D’Angelo while saying that Oba was chasing Trick to become the top man in NXT. Trick said when Oba was beaten at Halloween Havoc, he took off for a few weeks so we wanted to know how long he would take off at New Year’s Evil. Eddy Thorpe attacked Femi from behind and knocked down Trick. Thorpe hit Femi with the Male Wrestler of the Year award. Trick was out on the floor. Thorpe celebrated in the ring while holding up the NXT Title.
Analysis: It was a solid promo segment to build up the triple threat match next week. As I’ve written before, I think Trick will win by beating Thorpe and then we’ll get Trick vs. Femi as a singles match probably at the first NXT PLE of the year which is usually called Vengeance Day.
After NXT was done, it was posted on social media that former NXT North American Champion Oba Femi was voted as Male Superstar of the Year. Congrats to Oba.
They also announced Stand & Deliver as the NXT PLE of the year. I think Heatwave was better, but Stand & Deliver was great too.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Ethan Page
- Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson
- Trick Williams & Oba Femi
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7 out of 10
Last week: 6.75
2024 Average: 7.18
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
It was a solid show overall that was around the average of what NXT put on in 2024. They have done a nice job of building to New Year’s Evil next week. I liked the main event segment with Trick & Oba focusing on eachother while Thorpe capitalized on the situation and he was the one who stood tall to end it.
I thought the NXT Awards winners were all good choices. Some of them were obvious, but that’s okay.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport