WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights from Sept. 17

The September 17 edition of WWE NXT continued the march toward its move to The CW Network with some big moments for the future of the brand.

After an incredible victory over Pete Dunne, Trick Williams would face off with "All Ego" Ethan Page in a contract signing for their NXT Championship match on October 1.

Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley teamed together for the first time in months to confront the dark alliance of Wendy Choo and Rosemary.

CM Punk addressed the debut episode on The CW, which will come from his home town of Chicago.

Je'Von Evans and Cedric Alexander joined forces to face No Quarter Catch Crew's Tavion Heights and Myles Borne.

Other matches promised for the night included Lola Vice vs. Jacy Jayne, Eddy Thorpe vs. Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Brooks Jensen vs. Dion Lennox.

This was a night focused on major setup for the most important stretch in NXT history.

NXT general manager Ava introduced the competitors to open the show.

Trick Williams said "All Ego" Ethan Page "stole" the NXT Championship. Page took offense and sent Trick through a table with the Ego's Edge.

No one signed the contract as Trick was laid out and Page walked off.

All Ego has shown his value as a talker in WWE consistently, elevating the stories he is involved with. He did so again here, selling his crumbling confidence in the face of the crowd and Trick's derision.

This also set up a hook for the rest of the night as it left a question of whether Trick and Page would sign the contract and what All Ego might do to get out of the match.

On a night with a limited pre-announced card, this was a smart opener on multiple levels.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Ava ran down the NXT cards announced so far from Chicago and St. Louis in October, including Sexy Redd's return and Randy Orton competing for the first time in NXT.
• The crowd was still singing Joe Hendry's song at Page.
• After Trick was sent through the table, the fans chanted "Trick got whooped."
• NBA All-Star Tyrese Haliburton promised to get the contract signed.
  

Tatum Paxley took a beating in this intense fight, but she survived and rallied to get the tag to Lyra Valkyria, who hit a diving leg drop for the win.

Rosemary did the heavy lifting for the heels in this one, setting up the beatdown and enabling the crowd-pleasing comeback.

Valkyria and Paxley have always had tag team chemistry, and WWE would be smart to keep booking them together. While The Valkyrie should remain a fixture on Raw first and foremost, she has more story left to tell with the gold brand.

Choo has lost some steam as of late, and she will need to make some kind of change to come off as menacing again. It may come at the expense of Rosemary, who has yet to play any role other than veteran enabler in NXT.

Result

Valkyria and Paxley def. Choo and Rosemary by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Paxley and Valkyria hit side-by-side dropkicks and slingshot slide kicks to the outside on their opponents.
• Analyst Vic Joseph said "This isn't the NFL" after the referee caught Paxley's foot on the rope to break up a pin, ignoring the many refereeing issues WWE has always had.
  

Tony D'Angelo had trouble with the power and force of Hammerstone, clearly flashing back to his struggles with Oba Femi.

The Don walked out on the match, allowing a count-out.

There wasn't much of a contest here, but the story development is interesting. The Don has lost his confidence, finally running into a monster that he cannot overcome.

He saw in Hammerstone a similar power to Femi and simply walked out rather than suffer a potential defeat in the ring. It was an intriguing setup that gives a clear direction for a Femi vs. D'Angelo rematch.

If The Don can find his confidence again, he can challenge The Ruler. Until then, he may not compete at all.

It was nice to see a TNA star pick up a victory, even if it was tainted by the count-out. NXT has shown intriguing confidence in Hammerstone that should lead to more booking opportunities.

Result

Hammerstone def. D'Angelo by count-out.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• The Don told Hammerstone to go fight Femi again since he failed in his challenge, but the TNA star refused. This led to them agreeing to a match.
• The North American champion watched closely backstage until he said The Don is "broken."
• Zachary Wentz interrupted the commentators afterward to show Wes Lee attacking Trey Miguel in the parking lot with a car door. He then said Lee would suffer in Chicago.
• The Don conceded in the locker room that he is scared of Femi.
• Adrianna Rizzo cut a fantastic promo near the end of the night, telling D'Angelo he needs to fight Femi, even if he loses again.
  

Ashante "Thee" Adonis tried to bring the fight to Eddy Thorpe early, but he could not keep the pressure on.

Thorpe ducked a distracted Adonis coming off the top rope and planted him with Manifest Destiny to win.

This should have gotten more time as these two were rolling before the rushed finish. Still, this is as good as Adonis has looked in a WWE ring, backing up his backstage promos with solid athleticism in the ring.

Hopefully, this rivalry is not over as the two have obvious chemistry. This could also help jump-start Thorpe, who has been stuck in neutral ever since his feud with Dijak.

Result

Thorpe def. Adonis by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Adonis gave a rose to a woman in the crowd, who kissed him for it. He later blew her a kiss before the finish of the match.
  
• Adonis attacked Thorpe before he could get his jacket off or the bell could ring.
• Thea Hail cut a pained promo on Ridge Holland for his betrayal. Riley Osborne challenged him for next week.
  

• Holland was glad to accept the challenge later.
  

Roxanne Perez interrupted CM Punk to tell him that she realized she "should have been a Drew McIntyre fan". She was angry at him for supporting Giulia.

The Beautiful Insanity arrived to confront The Prodigy and remind her that she had two weeks left. Punk stopped Perez from attacking Giulia from behind.

This went too long with the crowd a little uncertain on how to react as it progressed, but Punk is always a confident promo and helped Perez cut one of her better promos.

While she did not say much, Giulia sounds strong on the mic, especially for someone still learning English. It helps that Perez has sold her fear of her opponent clearly in every interaction.

The main problem was that nothing truly happened in this segment. Punk promised to make an announcement but ultimately just stood there as Perez and Giulia nearly got into it early.

This would play out later when Punk showed he was far more interested in the NXT Championship match than the NXT Women's Championship bout.

It is a shame that NXT has stacked the NXT premiere so heavily that Perez vs. Giulia is competing with Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams, but there is real excitement building for what these two women can do together.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• The crowd was (unsurprisingly) louder for Punk than anyone else this week.
• Punk admitted that he watched NXT in the Performance Center crowd while he was rehabbing.
• He listed potential future rivals including Lexis King, Carmelo Hayes, Ethan Page, Bron Breakker and Je"von Evans. Even the crowd found King's inclusion on the list odd.

• Perez admitted she was a big fan of Punk but preferred his wife.
• Punk said he could appreciate an "overconfident champion" and understood the chip on her shoulder.
  

After Kelani Jordan and Wren Sinclair exchanged strikes outside the ring, Cedric Alexander hit Myles Borne with a Lumbar Check followed by Je'Von Evans connecting with a springboard corner corkscrew splash for the win.

WWE can teach talent many things in the Performance Center. Presence is something wrestlers have to find for themselves; Heights found it in Pro Wrestling Noah.

He walked strong and worked stronger in his first match back from Japan. Even Evans looked like he was out of league when Heights was on offense.

However, NXT may not quite know what he can be as he is still stuck backing up a No Quarter Catch Crew that cannot string together two straight wins.

The match itself was easily the strongest of the night where everyone got a moment to shine. It is just a shame that NQCC can't build credibility as a unit.

Result

Evans and Alexander def. No Quarter Catch Crew by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Dempsey told Sinclair to step up. She interrupted Kelani Jordan's warning to Fatal Influence and slapped her.
• Evans asked Ava for a match in St. Louis on October 8. Randy Orton announced he would face The Young OG.
  

Brooks Jensen mocked Dion Lennox, who only got more motivated with each jab.

However, a distraction from Shawn Spears allowed Jensen to hit an implant DDT for the win.

Lennox was trying his best to make the most of almost no time, coming off fiery in his brief comeback sequences. However, this never came together as more than a squash.

As much as NXT has committed to pushing Jensen and bringing him together with Spears, this is still not working. Jensen's attempts to play the wild card are not believable.

It is more likely Jensen would get over by seeing through Spears and working with Josh Briggs again than continuing down this heel path.

Result

Jensen def. Lennox by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Jensen finally let Spears stand in his corner for this match.
  
• Lennox had Jensen frustrated from the start and almost took the win with a spinebuster.
• WWE showed a video of A-Town Down Under challenging Nathan Frazer and Axiom, setting up an episode of The Grayson Waller Effect next week.
  

Fallon Henley tried to distract Lola Vice, but Vice still hit the spinning back fist on Jacy Jayne for the win.

Fatal Influence struck afterward until Jaida Parker arrived to lay out all of Fatal Influence. Vice and Parker almost came to blows afterward.

It took only a few weeks for Fatal Influence to lose momentum after the full rebrand. With a three-on-one advantage, the top women in NXT were again too much for Jayne, Henley and Jazmyn Nyx.

Vice and Parker are teasing an alliance, but it hardly looks like they need each other to take down this trio when every match is still a win.

This was the last bout of the night and barely got moving before Vice knocked out Jayne. The only slight consolation is that Henley remains the possible protected member of Fatal Influence, but she needs to win big soon.

Result

Vice def. Jayne by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Fatal Influence dismissed anyone as a threat to their dominance.
• In the locker room, Vice told Parker to stay out of her business for this match.
  
• Vice wiped out Fatal Influence in the ring and sent Jayne clear outside with a kick.
  

Tyrese Haliburton came out and showed his Indiana Pacers teammates were in the crowd. He convinced Trick Williams and "All Ego" Ethan Page to sign the contract for their NXT Championship match.

Afterward, CM Punk arrived to announce his true intentions in coming to NXT. He would be the special guest referee for the title match. He allowed the brawl to start early until officials got involved.

The pacing of this segment took up more time than needed, but the goal was achieved. Page vs. Trick was established as the biggest match NXT could possibly deliver for The CW premiere.

It will be up to Trick and All Ego to make up for their lackluster outing at Battleground and deliver in front of a passionate Chicago crowd.

Ava has two assistants but still needed Haliburton to play enforcer for this contract signing. Something needs to change in NXT's authority-figure structure based on recent actions.

While Punk probably cannot afford to travel to both Raw and NXT weekly, he came off as the most competent authority figure the gold brand has seen in a while. He might be the answer to its struggles on that front.

Even with that said, though, it would have been better to make Punk the special guest enforcer for the match, perhaps even the whole night.

This match did not need a unique referee, especially only weeks removed from Page vs. Joe Hendry.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• The crowd in Orlando, Florida did not like Haliburton and did not accept Trick trying to talk him up.
• Haliburton did not come off as a real threat to either man in the ring and struggled to cut a confident promo to start.
• Punk joined the crowd in chanting "Let them fight!"
  

It was a chaotic night for NXT, but the brand did not accomplish much more than hyping what was already promised for The CW premiere.

In particular, Trick Williams vs. Ethan Page was established as the match that mattered most, bringing out both Punk and Haliburton for the build.

Despite all of that, it was just Page who was needed to sell this match. He continued to feign confidence while building up his challenger. Nothing more is needed before October 1 to sell this contest.

Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia got a long segment but mostly stayed in place in terms of hype. Hopefully, something big is planned for next week's show to sell that equally important match for The CW premiere.

The hype is also building for the St. Louis show on October 8, which was more of an obvious priority for the rest of this show's card, though that is still a work in progress.

The rest of the show delivered some fine but rushed action. Je'Von Evans and Cedric Alexander vs. Tavion Heights and Myles Borne was the only exception, outworking its spot on the card.

NXT has created some solid foundations for deeper stories, but it's time to jump-start more angles beyond the world title scenes (and stop devaluing heel factions).

Overall Grade: C-