The November 21st edition of WWE NXT continued the build towards the deadline, including some big championship matches.
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 the Heritage Cup with an iron grip. His biggest challenge came in the motivated Alpha Academy. Could he really withstand a challenge from Chad Gable?
The final Iron Survivor Qualifiers would pit Carmelo Hayes against Josh Briggs and Blair Davenport against Thea Hail.
The show also promised the return of Eddy Thorpe and a detailed look at the drama surrounding Andre Chase and Chase U. More would certainly be the growing feud between Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin.
With a show focused on big competition, the gold brand appeared to be rebounding from last week.
After Oro Mensah helped Noam Dar endure a crash on lap two, Chad Gable worked desperately to get back into the fight until he found his crash on lap five. In the sixth round, time expired just before Dar applied an ankle lock.
This was surprisingly limited for the format and talent involved. Gable had some difficulty speeding up his offense in the three-minute rounds, while The Scottish Supernova was up to his usual trick in the round-robin format.
The ending didn’t help as the comments declared a tie. It remains an open question that will hopefully be answered by a better rematch.
Until then, NXT has a chance to consider the future of the Heritage Cup. Whether it’s the leader of Alpha Academy or another top name, it might be time to consider leaving Dar with the Heritage Cup and heading in a new direction.
Result
Dar vs. Gable ended in a 1-1 draw. The Scottish Supernova remained Heritage Cup winner.
Degree
C+
Remarkable moments
- This show started cold and went straight into introductions with no performances. NXT still went to commercial after just eight minutes.
- Meta-Four wore pink, highlighted by Lash Legend’s pink top hat.
- Mensah caught Gable with an enzuigiri to set Dar up for the Nova Roller, who broke the first fall.
- The Alpha Academy leader caught Dar with a rolling German suplex for a surprise three count early in the fifth round. Legend: cheaply shot gable after the bell.
- After the result, Legend urged Maxxine Dupri. Maxxine responded with a slap that sent her into the welcoming arms of Otis. She ran out scared.
Edris Enofé and Malik Blade came out swinging, but Angel Garza and Humberto Carrillo looked like the better men every step of the way. They finished off Enofé with a double-team breakdown.
NXT has 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 of their luster lately.
It will take more than a squash match to bring the division back together. It was a frantic battle that was a little too one-sided to be interesting.
However, there is no doubt that Garza and Carrillo are a great match. They have a natural chemistry that requires further research.
Result
Garza and Carrillo defeated. Enofé and Blade by Pinfall.
Degree
C
Remarkable moments
- The family toasted their success at their local restaurant. Later that night, Garza and Carrillo attacked D’Angelo and Stacks as they left the restaurant.
- Garza blocked Blade with a Gory Special, then Carillo hit Blade with a neckbreaker out of the submission.
- After their win, Carrillo and Garza called the family.
Josh Briggs was more motivated to win than Carmelo Hayes, and that showed how well the 6-foot-2 heavyweight worked. After Lexis King entered the match, Melo jumped right into a clothesline and hit an impressive big man moonsault for the defeat.
It took too long for NXT to put Briggs in the spotlight like this. This was by far his best individual game to date, working physically and quickly. That spotlight alone would have been enough.
Instead, NXT went all in and gave Briggs the biggest win of his career. Melo was protected so heavily that even a distraction usually wouldn’t be enough to lose. It’s a crucial moment to give the 30-year-old heavyweight his place.
In a men’s field that turned out to be predictable, NXT threw a curve ball that will make the match even more exciting. Briggs will try to prove himself.
Result
Briggs defeated. Melo by pinfall to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge.
Degree
B+
Remarkable moments
- Melo and Briggs told their partners that they had to do this alone.
- Fueled by the excitement of his first big chance, Briggs threw Melo over the commentary table early on.
- Briggs planted the A Champion with a huge chokeslam and a big boot that sent Melo flying.
- Backstage, Tiffany Stratton and Briggs seemed to get along a little too well for Fallon Henley’s liking.
Jacy Jayne coached Thea Hail to stay aggressive in her qualifying match against Blair Davenport, but Chase U’s student section didn’t hype her up like usual. Blair Davenport caught her with a short-arm knee strike and got the win.
It wasn’t all that good. Hail and Davenport didn’t find chemistry, they worked hard but produced sloppy results. Even the ending seemed disappointing as the knee barely looked effective.
The aim was to show that Hail was unable to overcome the Chase U drama. This story was clear, but not interesting enough on its own.
The evil witch had to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge. It will be the biggest challenge of her NXT career and could be a chance to further build her as the top contender in the women’s division.
Result
Davenport defeated. Hail by pinfall to qualify for the Iron Survivor Challenge.
Degree
D
Remarkable moments
- NXT addressed Chase U’s history in relation to The Family. It was announced that Andre Chase would be breaking his silence next week.
- Jayne promised to support Hail in her match without Chase or Duke Hudson.
- In a charming pre-recording, Von Wagner had dinner at Mr. Stone’s house and, among other things, promised to help Stone’s children with their bullies.
- Wes Lee challenged “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio to a match at Deadline. Dirty Dom only agreed if Lee could beat three former North American champions next week.
Charlie Dempsey demonstrated his technical skills in this match by bending and defeating Eddy Thorpe in the middle of the ring. The Alpha Wolf surprisingly converted a threesome.
Few are more committed to the offense than Dempsey, who was committed to his stretch-and-grind offense against Thorpe. However, this was over too quickly as Thorpe did virtually nothing before winning.
The commentary sold Thorpe as a loner before showing that he won’t last long alone against Drew Gulak’s team. It looks like the next step in Thorpe’s journey is finding a friend.
Result
Thorpe def. Dempsey by pinfall.
Degree
D+
Remarkable moments
- Immediately after the game ended, Gulak and Borne attacked Thorpe and put him down.
- Borne looked very comfortable as a heel alongside Gulak when he took over his latest move.
- Baron Corbin delivered a crazy pre-recorded promo showing why his life is so much better than Ilja Dragunov’s.
- In a vignette, Adrianna Grace promised to make NXT better, starting with Karmen Petrovic.
Due to an attack earlier in the night, the wounded Lyra Valkyria was crushed by Xia Li during much of this battle. The Valkyrie fought through and hit a spin-out Fisherman Buster to get the win.
In two nights, The Protector changed the conversation about her in WWE. She had the two best matches of her career and should have earned a regular appearance on Raw.
This wasn’t on the same level as her work with Becky Lynch, but still showed that Monday was no fluke.
In the meantime, the champion began her all-important first title defense. She is a force for NXT who can continue to elevate the women around her. She just needs a new challenger for Deadline.
Result
Valkyrie defeated. Li defends the NXT Women’s Championship by pinfall.
Degree
B+
Remarkable moments
- Valkyria vs. Li was scheduled to take place second on the card, but the challenger revealed the champion during her appearance.
- The Valkyrie refused to postpone the game and promised not to lose.
- Valkyria stalked to the ring and demanded the bell ring quickly, but she was clearly still injured, allowing Li to quickly take control.
- Li dodged the knockout kick and delivered a roundhouse kick of her own to set the stage for her victory.
It was a nice show, but the promise of the card didn’t quite live up to. Some sloppy finishing didn’t help matters.
The opening felt like a taste of what Chad Gable and Noam Dar can really bring together. There were several squash matches that could have used more time.
Carmelo Hayes vs. Josh Briggs was a surprise hit that highlighted an underused big man. Briggs’ victory was the most important moment of the evening.
The main event also offered plenty of action. Xia Li continued to perform well and worked well with Lyra Valkyria. The outcome was predictable, but necessary as NXT would focus on The Valkyrie going forward.
NXT brought its C-game but kept the energy positive heading into the deadline.
Overall grade: C