The November 21 edition of WWE NXT continued the build toward Deadline, including some major championship bouts.
Lyra Valkyria would put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line for the first time, battling a motivated and dangerous Xia Li. Could she avoid Li’s knockout kick?
Noam Dar holds onto the Heritage Cup with an iron grip. His greatest challenge arose in the motivated Alpha Academy. Could he truly handle a challenge from Chad Gable?
In the latest Iron Survivor Qualifiers, Carmelo Hayes would battle Josh Briggs, and Blair Davenport would compete with Thea Hail.
The show also promised the return of Eddy Thorpe and an in-depth look into the drama surrounding Andre Chase and Chase U. More was certain to also come from the growing feud of Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin.
The gold brand looked to rebound from last week with a show focused on great competition.
After Oro Mensah helped Noam Dar steal a fall in round two, Chad Gable worked desperately to get back into the fight until he found his fall in round five. In round six, the time expired just before Dar tapped out to an ankle lock.
This was surprisingly limited for the format and talent involved. Gable had some trouble pacing his offense through the three-minute rounds while The Scottish Supernova did his usual shtick in the Rounds format.
The ending did not help as commentary telegraphed a draw. It leaves an unfinished question that will hopefully be answered by a better rematch.
Until that time, NXT has chance to decide to reflect on the future of the Heritage Cup. Whether it is the Alpha Academy leader or another top name, it may be time to consider moving off Dar with the Heritage Cup for a fresh direction.
Result
Dar vs. Gable went to a 1-1 draw. The Scottish Supernova remained Heritage Cup champion.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- This show started cold, going right into introductions without entrances. NXT still cut to commercial just eight minutes in.
- Meta-Four wore pink, highlighted especially by Lash Legend’s hot pink top hat.
- Mensah caught Gable with an enzuigiri to set up Dar for the Nova Roller to pick up the first fall.
- The Alpha Academy leader caught Dar with a rolling German suplex for a surprise three count early in round five. Legend cheap-shot Gable after the bell.
- After the result, Legend pushed Maxxine Dupri. Maxxine responded with a slap that sent her into Otis’ welcoming arms. She ran out in a fright.
Edris Enofé and Malik Blade came out swinging, but Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo looked like the better men at every turn. They finished off Enofé with an double-team gut-buster.
NXT has very clearly established the former Los Lotharios as the next challengers to Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo. It should be a good match, but the NXT Tag Team Championships have lost some luster recently.
It will take more than a squash match to bring the division back together. This was a hectic battle that was a bit too one-sided to be interesting.
There is no doubt though that Garza and Carrillo are great together. They have natural chemistry that needs to be explored further.
Result
Garza and Carrillo def. Enofé and Blade by pinfall.
Grade
C
Notable Moments
- The Family toasted to their success at their local restaurant. Later in the night, Garza and Carrillo attacked D’Angelo and Stacks leaving the restaurant.
- Garza locked Blade in a Gory Special then Carillo hit Blade with a neckbreaker out of the submission.
- After their win, Carrillo and Garza called out The Family.
Josh Briggs came out more motivated than Carmelo Hayes to win, and it showed in how much the 6’8″ heavyweight worked. After Lexis King got involved, Melo jumped right into a clothesline and took an impressive big man moonsault for the loss.
It has taken too long for NXT to give Briggs this kind of spotlight. This was by far his best singles match to date, working physical and fast. That spotlight alone would have been enough.
Instead, NXT went all in and gave Briggs the biggest win of his career. Melo has been so heavily protected that even a distraction would usually not be enough for him to lose. It is a statement moment to give the 30-year-old heavyweight his spot.
In what was shaping up to be a predictable men’s field, NXT threw a curve-ball that will make that match all the more exciting. Briggs will be out to prove himself.
Result
Briggs def. Melo by pinfall to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge.
Grade
B+
Notable Moments
- Melo and Briggs told their partners that they had to do this alone.
- Fueled by the emotion of his first big opportunity, Briggs threw Melo over the announce table early.
- Briggs planted The A Champion with a huge chokeslam and big boot that spun Melo through the air.
- Afterward, backstage, Tiffany Stratton and Briggs seemed to get along a little too well for Fallon Henley’s liking.
Jacy Jayne coached up Thea Hail to stay aggressive in her qualifier against Blair Davenport, but the Chase U student section did not hype her up as usual. Blair Davenport caught her with a short-arm knee strike to take the win.
This was not all that good. Hail and Davenport did not find their chemistry, working hard but delivering sloppy results. Even the finish felt anticlimactic as the knee barely looked impactful.
The goal was to show that Hail has not been able to move past the drama surrounding Chase U. That story was clear but not interesting enough on its own.
The Wicked Witch needed to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge. It will be the biggest challenge of her NXT career and could be a chance to build her up further as the women’s division’s top heel.
Result
Davenport def. Hail by pinfall to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge.
Grade
D
Notable Moments
- NXT went over Chase U’s history connected to The Family. It was announced that Andre Chase would break his silence next week.
- Jayne promised to support Hail in her match without Chase or Duke Hudson.
- Von Wagner had dinner at Mr. Stone’s house in an adorable pre-tape, including promising to help Stone’s kids with their bullies.
- Wes Lee challenged “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio for a match at Deadline. Dirty Dom only agreed if Lee could beat three former North American champions next week.
Charlie Dempsey showed off his technical acumen in this match, bending and beating Eddy Thorpe in the middle of the ring. The Alpha Wolf reversed into a surprise roll-up for three.
Few are more engaging on offense than Dempsey, who leaned into his stretch-and-grind offense against Thorpe. However, this was over too fast with Thorpe doing basically nothing before he won.
Commentary sold Thorpe as a loner before showing that he won’t last long on his own against Drew Gulak’s crew. It looks like the next step on Thorpe’s journey will be finding a friend.
Result
Thorpe def. Dempsey by pinfall.
Grade
D+
Notable Moments
- Right after the match ended, Gulak and Borne attacked and laid out Thorpe.
- Borne looked very comfortable as a heel next to Gulak, leaning his recent turn.
- Baron Corbin delivered a wicked pre-taped promo, showing why his life is so much better than Ilja Dragunov.
- In a vignette, Adrianna Grace promised to make NXT better, starting with Karmen Petrovic.
Due to an attack earlier in the night, a wounded Lyra Valkyria was beat down throughout much of this match by Xia Li. The Valkyrie fought through and hit a spin-out fisherman buster for the win.
In two night, The Protector has changed the conversation about her in WWE. She delivered the two best matches of her career and should have earned a regular spotlight on Raw.
This was not at the same level as her work with Becky Lynch but still showed that Monday was not a fluke.
Meanwhile, the champion picked up her all-important first title defense. She is a force for NXT that can continue to elevate the women around her. She just needs a new challenger for Deadline.
Result
Valkyria def. Li by pinfall to retain the NXT Women’s Championship.
Grade
B+
Notable Moments
- Valkyria vs. Li was supposed to happen second on the card, but the challenger laid out the champion during her entrance.
- The Valkyrie refused to postpone the match and promised not to lose.
- Valkyria stomped to the ring and demanded the bell ring fast, but she was clearly still hurt, allowing Li to quickly take control.
- Li ducked the Knockout Kick and hit a roundhouse kick of her own to set the stage for her win.
This was a fine show, but the promise of the card did not fully deliver. Some sloppy finishes did not help matters.
The opener felt like a tease of what Chad Gable and Noam Dar can really go together. There were multiple squash matches that could have used more time.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs was a surprise hit that elevated an underused big man. Briggs’ win was the most important moment of the night.
The main event was also solid action. Xia Li continued to show out and worked well with Lyra Valkyria. The result was predictable but necessary given NXT’s future should focus on The Valkyrie.
NXT brought its C-game but positively kept the energy moving toward Deadline.
Overall Grade: C
