The John Report: WWE NXT 02/04/25 Review
This week on WWE NXT featured Oba Femi & Trick Williams teaming up against Grayson Waller & Austin Theory, plus Giulia, Roxanne Perez, and Bayley have a chat about their Vengeance Day match.
I will do a review that is summary style for most of the show and then full play-by-play for a few matches. I am watching the Netflix version of the show here in Canada.
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.
There was some walking shown from earlier in the day featuring Roxanne Perez, Giulia and Bayley. They also showed A-Town Down Under’s Austin Theory & Grayson Waller along with Oba Femi and Trick Williams.
It was Vic Joseph, Booker T and Corey Graves on commentary.
Jacy Jayne (w/Fallon Henley & Jazmyn Nyx) vs. Stephanie Vaquer
Vaquer is challenging Henley for the NXT Women’s North American Title at Vengeance Day, so now Vaquer faces Jayne. Jayne was aggressive early on, but Vaquer came back by sending Jayne into the turnbuckle and Vaquer hit a dropkick. Jayne did a hair pull and a dropkick of her own. Vaquer came back with the double knee smash spot that the fans and Booker love a lot. Nyx distracted the referee, Henley pulled Vaquer off the apron and Jayne hit a running kick on Vaquer on the floor. They went to a break for some fans as the action continued. Jayne was in control of the action for a few minutes.
Jayne tried something on the turnbuckle, Vaquer slipped out of it and Vaquer hit a superkick. Vaquer hit a superplex from the middle turnbuckle. Jayne missed a cannonball attack, Vaquer hit Eat Defeat and the Meteora double knees. Jayne came back with a knee to the jaw for two. Vaquer countered Jayne with a DDT for a two count. Vaquer hit her version of the 619 kick followed by a springboard cross body block and Nyx went into the ring to break it up, but Nyx hit Jayne by accident so the referee didn’t call for a DQ. Vaquer hit the SVB move she does that is a Powerbomb backbreaker for the pinfall win. It went about 12 minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Stephanie Vaquer
Analysis: ***1/4 Good match between two talented women. Vaquer winning made sense since she’s getting a title shot. Jayne is a very talented wrestler and I’d like to see her get some more singles opportunities.
After the match, Stephanie Vaquer had a staredown with NXT Women’s North American Champion Fallon Henley, who was standing on the commentary table.
The women’s locker room was shown with Zaria and Sol Ruca talking to Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson. Zaria trashed Lash and Jakara for not winning the Women’s Tag Team Titles. Lash trashed Zaria being on the couch watching Lash. The trio of Gigi Dolin, Shotzi and Tatum Paxley were there too, so they argued with Zaria. Gigi said she’s waiting to see Zaria step up. Sol didn’t say much while Zaria did all the talking. Sol got Zaria out of there.
There was a commercial for NXT Vengeance Day next Saturday, February 15th in Washington, DC.
(Commercial)
A video aired about Roxanne Perez’s impressive performance in the Women’s Royal Rumble.
The NXT Champion Oba Femi was interviewed by Sarah Schreiber. Femi said he runs everything that happens in the ring, so he’ll show Grayson Waller & Austin Theory that they don’t belong in the ring with him. Femi said he didn’t owe Trick a single thing and he’ll see him out there.
Let’s Hear from Lexis King
Lexis King was in the ring with the NXT Heritage Cup and his ridiculous facial hair. King said he doesn’t like advice from William Regal and NFL bust Ryan Leaf and said he doesn’t like playing by the rules. King used words like “beta” and “normie” to trash the fans. King said that he was a second-generation talent and the son of a psycho. King said he tried to be anything like his father and said he never really knew his father. King said his father (Brian Pillman) was a Loose Cannon who would do anything to win. King said that he is the Heritage Cup Champion because he stayed true to who he is.
King said that the truth is that this championship has been mistreated for far too long. King said that he’s going to change the way that this title will be defended. King said that there would be no rounds, no cornermen, and no time limits, so they would be one fall matches.
The music of Fandango hit making a surprising WWE return. Fandango was in TNA as JDC. Fandango said that music means the world to him. King said that Fandango used to run around playing dress up with Tyler Breeze. Fandango said that King looks like a guy who had his face spraypainted on this morning. Fandango said that his name is JDC (Johnny Dango Curtis) from The System and they are always looking for gold. JDC told King that he spoke to NXT GM Ava and they are going to have a match for the Heritage Cup next week. King said all he knows him as is Fandango. King said that next week they’re going to dance.
Yooooooo! 🤯
NO ONE was expecting this!!! 😱#WWENXTpic.twitter.com/pGKpDXDUmP
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2025
Analysis: That was a surprise I wasn’t expecting with the former Fandango showing up. Good job by him informing the audience that he goes by the name of JDC now. King has embraced the heel role again and has no problem reminding that he’s a cheater now even though he had previously claimed he didn’t want to be like that.
A video aired showing a clip of Tony D’Angelo on The CW show Wildcards.
They showed NXT North American Champion Tony D, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Luca Crusifino and Adrianna Rizzo watching the clip on a TV backstage. Stacks mentioned Tony talking to Izzi Dame recently and made a joke. Tony said instead of breaking his balls, worry about your match with Ridge tonight, so Stacks and the group left.
(Commercial)
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo (w/Tony D’Angelo, Luca Crusifino & Adrianna Rizzo) vs. Ridge Holland
Stacks hit a dropkick before the bell. Ridge came back with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex across the ring. They left the ring where Ridge sent Stacks into the steel steps. Stacks got some offense going with a boot to the face followed by a Codebreaker knee. Ridge caught Stacks off the top leading to an overhead suplex. Ridge shoved Stacks out of the ring and Ridge shoved Luca when he got close to Stacks. Back in the ring, Izzi Dame went into the ring, Ridge was ready for her when she got there and Stacks rolled up Ridge for a two count. Ridge hit an Impaler DDT for the pinfall win after about four minutes.
Winner by pinfall: Ridge Holland
Analysis: ** A short match to put over Ridge since his rivalry with Tony D isn’t over. It was like the first match of the show where a wrestler who’s part of a stable was used to put over another wrestler.
The NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom were in the locker room talking about their title defense against Nic and Ryan Nemeth on TNA Impact this week. The team of Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura walked up to the champs wanting a title match. Frazer and Axiom said if you can beat somebody to earn a title shot then maybe you’ll get a title shot.
Sol Ruca & Zaria entered for tag team action.
(Commercial)
The WWE Evolve show premieres on March 5th on Tubi. It’s a Wednesday night show.
Zaria & Sol Ruca vs. Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley (w/Shotzi)
Dolin tried to take down Zaria, who was too powerful, so Dolin slapped Zaria and Zaria replied with a punch that knocked Dolin. Ruca tagged in and Paxley hit an elbow drop for two. Paxley gave Sol a butterfly suplex across the ring. Dolin hit a spinning splash on Sol. After Sol broke free, the powerhouse Zaria was in control with clotheslines, a kick and a German Suplex. Zaria hit an impressive Spear on Dolin for two because Paxley got the save. Paxley and Dolin each hit enziguri kicks on their opponents. Sol got the tag, Zaria caught Paxley and slammed her onto Dolin. Sol hit a Sol Snatcher on Dolin for the pinfall win. It lasted about four minutes.
Winners by pinfall: Zaria & Sol Ruca
Analysis: ** An impressive win by Zaria and Ruca. The idea is that Zaria and Ruca don’t have the best tag team chemistry now, but Zaria is a powerhouse while Ruca is athletically gifted, so they work well together. I’d like to see Zaria in more singles matches, but you can’t push everybody and obviously, the other newcomers like Giulia and Vaquer are getting a lot of attention.
There was some backstage walking shown for the Giulia-Roxanne Perez-Bayley Vengeance Day Summit up next.
(Commercial)
Trick Williams was interviewed by Sarah Schreiber saying he never talked strategy with Oba Femi. Trick said he should have got the title shot at Vengeance Day. Trick said he was going to drop Austin and Waller’s bitch-asses and told Oba that his receipt was coming too.
NXT Women’s Championship Summit
This is being billed as a “summit” with the three women in the NXT Women’s Title match. Bayley entered the ring first followed by Roxanne Perez and before NXT Women’s Champion Giulia could arrive, Perez spoke. Perez bragged about lasting the longest in the history of the Women’s Royal Rumble. Bayley: “You didn’t even win the match, dude.” Perez said she eliminated Giulia in the match. Perez said that Bayley came here to try to win the championship after getting her ass kicked on Smackdown and then going to Raw. Perez said she wants more because she wants all the titles. Perez said that her heroes like Bayley were just standing in her way so Perez didn’t surpass them.
Bayley told Perez to shut up. Bayley said one day she hopes Perez surpasses her. Bayley said she literally built one of the first rings in this building and Dusty Rhodes taught her how to hold a microphone while Perez has no respect for that. Bayley said when Perez lost that title, she lost her mind. Bayley said she’s going to Elimination Chamber and she’s going to WrestleMania. Bayley said Roxanne is losing herself and might lose her best friend too. Bayley said she’ll be just fine if she doesn’t win at Vengeance Day. Perez said she has no friends or no mentors when it come sot the NXT Championship while claiming she has no equals. Perez said she’ll be champion again, then go to Raw to win that title and then go to Smackdown to win that title too. Perez said if she vacates the NXT Women’s Title then maybe Cora can finally win a championship too.
Analysis: That was a good promo exchange. Roxanne also took a shot at her pal Cora at the end since Cora has never been a singles champion.
Giulia walked out as the NXT Women’s Champion and told Perez that she is nothing without a title. Giulia told Bayley she would beat her too. As Giulia tried to say more, there was another interruption.
Charlotte Flair made her entrance as the 2025 Women’s Royal Rumble winner making a return to NXT for the first time in several years. Flair was booed heavily on Raw and was given “welcome back” chants here. Flair told NXT that “Mama has come home” because your Queen has arrived. Flair said she was NXT homegrown and it will always be her home. Flair reminded us that the last time she won the Royal Rumble, she challenged the NXT Women’s Champion and became a two-time NXT Women’s Champion.
Flair put over Perez for going 1:07:47 in the Women’s Royal Rumble and said she was so proud of her. Flair said that if Perez is champion by the time we get to WrestleMania then Perez will be runner up again. Flair said she respects Giulia for being the champion of the greatest women’s division in the world, but guess what because Flair is better. The fans booed that. Flair did a “four” hand gesture to Bayley and Bayley replied with a “four” of her own as the Four Horsewomen. Flair told Giulia to ask Bayley that whatever title Flair selects means that Flair will walk out as the champion.
Cora Jade attacked Bayley and Giulia from behind. Jade had a kendo stick with her. Jade took a swing at Perez too, but Perez bailed from the ring. Jade hit Bayley in the back with the kendo stick again.
Analysis: I don’t think there’s any chance for Charlotte Flair to challenge for the NXT Women’s Title and instead she’s going for the WWE Women’s Title that Tiffany Stratton holds. Jade showing up at the end to attack was a good way to end it. I think this is the year where Cora wins that NXT Women’s Title for the first time.
There was a backstage scene with NXT GM Ava along with Ethan Page and Je’Von Evans with some security guys around them. Page said he promised to be on his best behavior. Ava said that Evans wasn’t cleared to be near the ring and she suspended Evans for it. Page wanted Ava to punish Evans by putting him in a match. Ava said that you can have a match at Vengeance Day but only if Evans gets cleared from the jaw injury. Page told Evans to “please get cleared” to end it.
Analysis: That Page-Jordan rivalry has been one of the best in NXT in the last few months so it makes sense to put them in a match at Vengeance Day. I like that move.
Kelani Jordan entered for singles action.
(Commercial)
The team of Hank & Tank were talking to Josh Briggs about a tag team match next week and they agreed to it.
Ridge Holland approached Tony D’Angelo and his friends saying if he got a true one on one match then he’ll take the NXT North American Title from him. Ridge said he didn’t trust anybody there. Izzi Dame suggested a cage match. Ridge was fine with that while Tony said that was okay with him because he didn’t need help to beat him.
Analysis: There aren’t a lot of Steel Cage matches in NXT. It’s a good way to try to finally settle the Tony D/Ridge match.
Kelani Jordan vs. Karmen Petrovic (w/Ashante “Thee” Adonis)
Karmen got going with a takedown followed by a running kick. Karmen hit a kick to the face followed by a bulldog. Jordan got some offense going with a dropkick and Jordan kicked Karmen from the apron to the floor. Jordan dove onto Adonis after Karmen moved. Jaida Parker showed up to watch her rival Jordan and Karmen hit a suicide dive on the floor. They went to break for some fans while the action continued here on Netflix. It was mostly Karmen on offense, but then Jordan hit a kick to the head.
The action continued with Jordan hitting an impressive cartwheel into a back elbow followed by a sitout facebuster for two. Karmen hit some strikes leading to a clothesline and a Slingblade neckbreaker for two. Jordan went up top, so Karmen hit a handstand hurricanrana like Trish Stratus did many times. Jordan hit a Northern Lights Suplex for two. Jordan did an impressive Angle Slam where she walked with Karmen a bit before she hit the move. Jordan hit the One of a Kind split-legged moonsault twice and Crossface submission move. Karmen tapped out.
After the match, Jordan applied the Crossface submission move again. The referee reversed the decision, so Karmen got the win. This went about 11 minutes. Jordan was yelling at Parker at ringside while Parker was laughing at her.
Winner by referee’s decision: Karmen Petrovic
Analysis: *** It was a solid match that got a decent amount of time. Both women have improved a lot over the last year and it’s nice to see them getting 10 minutes in a match like that. It continues the story that Jordan is trying to prove she’s tough rather than being just a smiling babyface and maybe it’s going to lead to Jordan becoming a heel soon. You don’t see referee decision finishes that often, but I thought it made sense based on Jordan’s actions.
Stephanie Vaquer was shown outside the building talking about taking Fallon Henley’s NXT North American Title. Lola Vice was walking in the background. Vaquer said that at Vengeance Day she’ll make history and she’ll see Fallon Henley in hell.
(Commercial)
Ava the NXT GM was shown in her office with Bayley saying she wants that bitch Cora Jade in a match. Bayley said she’d even be fine if Jade was added to the NXT Women’s Title match at Vengeance Day. Ava said that you can have her next week. Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura told Ava that Hank & Tank agreed to a match while Yoshiki said NQCC agreed to a match, so Ava booked a triple threat match with those teams. The NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom saying if they beat those teams then if Briggs & Inamura beat those teams then they deserve an opportunity.
Next week on NXT:
* NXT North American Title Steel Cage Match: Tony D’Angelo vs. Ridge Holland
* NXT Heritage Cup Match: Lexis King vs. JDC
* Bayley vs. Cora Jade
* Josh Briggs & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Hank & Tank vs. No Quarter Catch Crew
Analysis: That’s a solid lineup for next week.
The team of Austin Theory & Grayson Waller were interviewed backstage by Sarah Schreiber about their match coming up. Waller said that he’s going to be NXT Champion and Theory didn’t like that because he thinks he’ll be the champion, so they argued a bit before making their entrance.
(Commercial)
They went over the NXT Vengeance Day lineup on February 15th. Here’s the lineup so far:
* NXT Women’s Championship: Giulia (c) vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez
* Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans
* NXT Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Fallon Henley (c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer
It was main event time with Trick Williams making his entrance with the fans chanting “Woop That Trick” as usual. The NXT Champion Oba Femi was last.
A-Town Down Under – Austin Theory & Grayson Waller vs. Oba Femi & Trick Williams
Femi wanted to start the match, but Trick tagged himself in. Theory worked over Trick with punches, but Trick hit two shoulder tackles along with a dropkick. Theory sent Trick into the middle turnbuckle and a dropkick of his own. Waller tagged in with a hard chop to Trick’s chest. Trick came back with a hard chop to Waller’s chest. Trick hit two jumping left side kicks and a suplex. Trick gave Waller a body slam. Femi tagged himself in and Femi hit a body slam on Theory, who ran into the ring illegally. Waller punched Femi, but a body slam attempt failed and Femi nailed Waller with a body slam. Trick tagged back in with a body slam. Waller knocked Trick into Femi against the ropes. Trick ran the ropes, Femi pulled Trick out of the ring and Femi argued with Trick. Waller hit a somersault dive onto Trick and Femi on the floor. They went to a break for some fans there as the action continued. The action during the break featured Waller and Theory working over Trick as Theory hit a backbreaker. Waller worked over Trick with a kick and a hard chop. Trick hit a suplex as the action continued.
Theory was in control of Trick with a stomp to the back along with some punches to the face. Waller tagged in with a knee smash and Theory hit a neckbreaker on Trick leading to Waller getting a two count. Waller worked over Trick with forearm smashes for a two count. Waller put Trick on the apron where Theory knocked Trick down on the floor. Waller hit a clothesline on the floor. Waller jumped off the barricade with an elbow drop on Trick on the floor. Waller jumped into the ring, but Trick was ready for him with an uppercut punch. Femi got the hot tag against Theory with Femi hitting two shoulder tackles and Femi tossed Waller into the ring. Femi had both opponents on his shoulders leading to a stacked Samoan Drop. Femi hit running uppercuts on both opponents. Femi tossed Theory across the ring while Trick tagged himself in. Femi didn’t like that. Trick clotheslined Theory out of the ring while Waller was legal with a forearm smash on Trick. Trick came back with a spinning kick to the head for two because Theory saved his partner. Theory hit a jumping back elbow and then Femi tried to Powerbomb Theory, but they went tumbling over the top to the floor. Eddy Thorpe hit Trick in the back with a leather strap and the referee never saw that. Waller jumped into the ring and hit a flatliner on Trick. Waller covered Trick for the pinfall win after 12 minutes.
Winners by pinfall: A-Town Down Under – Austin Theory & Grayson Waller
Analysis: ***1/4 A good main event tag team match with A-Town Down Under controlling most of the match since they are used to being a team while Trick and Oba didn’t get along. The issues that Femi and Trick had as a team cost them the match although Eddy Thorpe attacking Trick was another big reason why they lost. It also puts over Waller and Theory by winning a big match to give them momentum going into Vengeance Day when they are against Oba Femi for the NXT Title. I doubt Femi will lose the title there.
After the match, Oba Femi walked away instead of helping Trick Williams. Thorpe punched Trick a few times. Thorpe used a leather strap to hit Trick repeatedly. Some referees went into the ring so Thorpe stopped his attack. Thorpe posed over Trick.
Analysis: I think that will likely mean Trick will face Eddy in a Strap Match at Vengeance Day. It’s fine as a feud to keep Trick out of the title picture and I assume we get Femi against Trick at Stand & Deliver during WrestleMania weekend.
At the end of the show, there was a colored screen that said “Vengeance Day” on it. They also showed four men in darkness. That was the end of the show.
Analysis: The four men are reportedly Saquon Shugars, Cutler James, Keanu Carver, and Dion Lennox. We have seen Lennox on NXT TV for several months while the others will be fresh faces for the brand. We’ll see them at Vengeance Day.
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Three Stars of the Show
- Austin Theory & Grayson Waller
- Stephanie Vaquer
- Oba Femi & Trick Williams
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The Scoreboard
This week: 7.25 out of 10
Last week: 7.5
2025 Average: 7.40
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Final Thoughts on WWE NXT
A solid show overall. The in-ring action was okay most of the way, but a bit lacking in terms of great matches. They have built up the Vengeance Day card well even though I don’t like having two triple threat matches on the same card. Maybe Cora Jade will be added to it like Bayley suggested. Anyway, a fine edition of NXT as usual.
The next NXT PLE is Vengeance Day on February 15th in Washington, D.C. with this lineup announced so far:
* NXT Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Austin Theory vs. Grayson Waller
* NXT Women’s Championship: Giulia (c) vs. Bayley vs. Roxanne Perez
* NXT Women’s North American Championship: Fallon Henley (c) vs. Stephanie Vaquer
* Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans
You can watch Vengeance Day streaming live on Saturday, February 15, at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT, exclusively on Peacock in the United States and Netflix internationally.
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Thanks for reading. My contact info is below.
John Canton
Email mrjohncanton@gmail.com
Twitter/X @johnreport