14-time World Champion Randy Orton made a rare appearance as WWE NXT launched a new era at The Factory in St. Louis, Missouri. Tony D’Angelo faced Oba Femi, aiming to end the reign of the longest-standing North American champion in history. Meanwhile, Nathan Frazer and Axiom defended the NXT Tag Team Titles against SmackDown’s A-Town Down Under (Austin Theory and Grayson Waller). In the women’s division, Kelani Jordan joined forces with WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill to take on Fatal Influence (Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne, and Jazmyn Nyx).
In a rare move, Randy Orton competed in his first NXT match against rising star Je’Von Evans. Elsewhere, Trick Williams broke his silence after reclaiming the NXT Championship from “All Ego” Ethan Page last week in Chicago.
WWE NXT Results & Ratings (December 9)
Jey Uso and Wes Lee confront Trick Williams:
The crowd was energetic for new NXT champion Trick Williams, and Jey Uso got a big welcome as WWE Intercontinental Champion. Wes Lee also showed up, making a case to become an NXT Triple Crown champion.
Grade: A
Bianca Belair, Jade Cargill, and Kelani Jordan defeat Fatal Influence (Pinfall):
Grade: B+
Cora Jade returns to help Roxanne Perez defeat Giulia:
Grade: C
WWE North American Championship: Tony D’Angelo defeats Oba Femi (Pinfall):
Grade: A+
WWE NXT Tag Team Championship: Fraxiom (c) defeats A-Town Down:
Grade: A
Randy Orton defeats Je’Von Evans:
Grade: C-
Though this episode of NXT looked promising on paper, with appearances from stars like Orton, the show didn’t fully live up to the hype. However, the highlight was D’Angelo pinning Oba Femi, ending the Nigerian’s record-setting 273-day reign, which included a 30-match winning streak.
