New NXT Champion Joe Hendry appears, accompanied by a crowd of signs with his face – “the new face of NXT” as Vic Joseph describes. Hendry credits his believers for winning last week’s multi-man ladder match, ultimately pushing Ricky Saints onto a bridged ladder for victory.
The Vanity Project interrupts, and Evolve Champion Jackson Drake calls him mid over a chorus of boos. “We’re not gonna take fashion tips from a guy who looks like he was in a boy band that my mother liked,” 22-year-old Drake says. Hendry gets revenge for their attack last month, but Drake capitalizes on the numbers advantage. He wins the battle against Hendry but loses against the dress shirt around his wrists.
In the locker room, Zaria argues with tag team partner Sol Ruca about getting her share of opportunities. Tonight, ZaRuca faces WrenQCC, where the competitor of the winning fall earns an NXT Women’s Championship match on Feb. 24.
After break, Keanu Carver confronts Interim General Manager Robert Stone about granting Drake an NXT Championship match. Stone stands by Shawn Michaels’ lust for chaos, and Carver threatens to bring it.
Jaida Parker vs Blake Monroe
Parker jumpstarts a messy scrap, and Monroe toeholds her into the announce desk to gain control. Parker comes back with her signature hip drop and sends Monroe into the steel steps. They continue with an awkward brawl until the referee counts them out, and Parker lands another hip drop from the steel steps. She connects with Hipnotic on a referee, lowblows an official and boots another into the barricade.
Winner: N/A
A Tatum Paxley vignette depicts her dissension with The Culling underwater and wrapped in barbed wire. “When this is over… I’ll walk out as the version of Tatum Paxley I was meant to be,” she says, rising out of the noir-toned water.
Kale Dixon confronts Uriah Connors for abandoning Chase University, and the latter’s new peers in Lexis King, Stacks and Arianna Grace back him up. “I’m done pretending like I wasn’t born in this business,” Connors says. “All we need is the final piece of the puzzle,” King responds. “Our dad’s got a little history… so I’ll talk to him,” Connors foreshadows.
“Have you heard about this cross-country manhunt going on for a wanted felon?” Vic Joseph asks Booker T. “He’s sitting right behind us,” Booker T responds. The Wanted Man from the upcoming horror movie “Psycho Killer” sits front row, red lights and all.
Josh Briggs vs Eli Knight – Speed Tournament
Joseph shoves in another ad, for Pizza Hut, before the three-minute match begins. Knight hits a top-rope crossbody and ringside moonsault at the 45-second mark, but Briggs comes back with a lariat to the back. Knight lands on his feet from a body drop, connects with a running knee and a final moonsault for victory. He advances to face Elio LeFleur next week, and the masked man arrives to shake hands. Speed Champion Jasper Troy attacks both, chokeslamming Knight onto LeFluer.
Winner: Eli Knight
Robert Stone meets with new AAA Mixed Tag Team Champion Lola Vice in the trainer’s room and offers a match with Kehlani Jordan. Vice accepts the match next week, officials draw Stone’s attention, and Jordan timely arrives to reinjure Vice’s hand.
Cameras cut to a destroyed backstage area, where Keanu Carver keeps his promise of chaos. Among a group of attacked wrestlers lie Sean Legacy, Andre Chase and Tavion Heights.
NXT Tag Team Champions DarkState appear in-ring, and Dion Lennox targets the winner of Joe Hendry versus Jackson Drake tonight. Cutler James pushes back against Tony D’Angelo’s threat last week, and Osiris Griffin and Saquon Shugars stand their ground against The Culling. Subsequently, Shawn Spears and Niko Vance appear on the podium. “We plan first and conquer later, that’s our advantage,” Spears says. OTM arrives from the stands DarkState-style, and Hank Walker and Tank Ledger come from the entranceway, overdosed on caffeine. A brawl erupts, and D’Angelo takes Lennox and James out with spinebusters.
Robert Stone tells Kelly Kincaid about next week’s triple-threat tag team match, where the winning team challenges DarkState on Feb. 24. He finds Shiloh Hill in his office with a Jason Voorhees mask, and North American Champion Ethan Page interrupts. Page wants to break the record for most title defenses, forcing him to keep it in-house. Hill returns to grab his machete, and Stone makes the match official next week.
Jackson Drake vs Joe Hendry (c) – NXT Championship
Drake starts out hot with running dropkicks, a Swanton and a standing Shooting Star Press. Hendry overpowers him with bodyslams and suplexes, but The Vanity Project throws him into the steel steps. “We didn’t touch him!” Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor say as the referee ejects them. After break, Hendry makes a comeback to “we believe” chants. Drake recuperates with a sharp running knee, but Hendry connects with a powerbomb and Standing Ovation for victory. A man in a black hoodie attacks Hendry, but this time it’s actually Ricky Saints. He hits a tornado DDT and raises up the NXT Championship above the fallen champion.
Winner: Joe Hendry
WrenQCC remain united in the locker room, planning to bring the NXT Women’s Championship home together. After break, DarkState regroups backstage, and Cutler James vows to handle Tony D’Angelo next week.
Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs The Vanity Project
The guilty Smokes and Baylor are back, continuing to take advantage behind the referee’s back. Walker and Ledger take control with high energy and loud red jerseys, and The Vanity Project reverses momentum through break. Walker comes back with a whirlwind of a Bossman Slam, Baylor hits a top-rope elbow, and Smokes hits an assisted dropkick. Smokes intercepts the Honk Honk, and Ledger drops Baylor with a lariat to “NXT” chants. OTM and The Culling arrive surrounded by officials, allowing Jackson Drake to cheapshot Ledger and hand Vanity Project the win.
Winners: The Vanity Project
Sean Legacy wants to fight Keanu Carver after tonight’s attack, issuing the challenge in his homestate of Georgia. The Vanity Project demands a tag-team opportunity, and Robert Stone makes next week’s match a fatal four-way.
Stone catches a breath after Myles Borne questions Shiloh Hill’s North American Championship shot. “Maybe it’s time you do something out of character,” Stone says.
ZaRuca vs WrenQCC
The competitor who earns the winning fall heads to Atlanta, Georgia, to challenge NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne. Athletic standouts Sol Ruca and Kendal Grey trade reversals until Zaria creates conflict with forced tags. The opposition takes advantage with stereo dropkicks, and Grey hits a ringside moonsault before break. Ruca attempts Sol Snatcher as Zaria tags herself in, allowing Wren Sinclair’s to push her over the ropes. Grey cinches an armbar on Zaria, who inadvertently tags Ruca before connecting with a Spear. Zaria hits an F5 on Sinclair as Ruca hits Sol Snatcher on Grey, deeming the latter competitor the winner of the fall.
Winner: Sol Ruca
Zaria pushes away a handshake before Fatal Influence arrives. Jayne stares down Ruca ahead of their NXT Women’s Championship match on Feb. 24.
