Returning Favorites
The show opened with the return of, NXT General Manager and WWE legend, William Regal, who had taken some time off T.V. due to an injury, he was welcomed to a fantastic reception, and announced the night's main event match, an over the top rope battle royal, where the winner would become the number one contender for the Women's Championship.
Regal then welcomed another returning fan favorite, making his first appearance back at Full Sail since his injury, Sami Zayn! The reaction he received was phenomenal and it was clear he was just as happy to be back, which was good to see.
Zayn told the NXT Universe he was glad to be back, in the place he calls home and revealed the reason he has returned to the 'developmental' brand, to become the first ever two time NXT Champion.
But before he could carry on, he was interrupted by the former number one contender, Samoa Joe, who didn't take kindly to Zayn's announcement, as he reminded him that it was Joe who saved him from a beating at the hands of Kevin Owens, during his last title shot.
Joe didn't feel that Zayn deserves a shot at the belt, and Baron Corbin then headed down to the ring, he agreed with everything Joe had to say, and announced that he believes he has earned a shot himself, but Joe reminded the Lone Wolf of the time he beat him.
Corbin then hit the returning hero with a cheap shot from behind, but the Underdog from the Underground quickly sent Corbin flying out of the ring, before squaring up to Joe, who then backed away as Zayn's music hit.
Analysis: This was a brilliant way of kicking off the show, with three of the brands top guys all staking their claims for a title shot, and each man had a good claim that made sense, and all of them used their time effectively.
The physical interaction was a good tease of things to come in the future, and it made sense to have Zayn get the upper hand, as he has only just come back and needs to build himself some momentum.
Joe stole the segment with his microphone skills, putting down both men and making sure that fans know he is a monster still and isn't letting the defeat at Takeover:London effect him.
It was slightly surprising to not see Apollo Crews be used here, as he could easily make a claim for the title as his opportunity was ruined by interference, but Regal made the announcement that in two weeks it would be a triple threat to determine a new number one contender, that match should be brilliant.
Tommaso Ciampa def. Danny Burch
It was another impressive showing for Tommaso Ciampa, who continues to make strides in the right direction, following on from his showing against Joe several weeks ago, this time by beating Danny Burch.
The match was a physical one, which suits both athletes styles, as they traded some hard shots back and forth, until ultimately a unique arm bar saw Ciampa gain a submission victory.
Analysis: It's great to see Ciampa continue to get time in the ring, as he's one of the most underused guys in the roster, someone who could benefit from NXT having a mid-card championship, but for now, it's good to see him being used and making the most of his minutes.
NXT Year-End Awards
The results of the first ever NXT Year-End Awards were revealed this week, and it's good to see the show get their own set of awards as they certainly deserve it, rather than having an entire episode dedicated to them, they were simply announced in a video package, which worked well, here's a recap of the winners.
NXT Tag Team of the Year- Enzo Amore & Colin Cassady (Team SAWFT)
NXT TakeOver of the Year- TakeOver Brooklyn
NXT Male Competitor of the Year- Finn Balor
NXT Female Competitor of the Year- Bayley
NXT Match of the Year- Bayley - Sasha Banks (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)
NXT Overall Competitor of the Year- Finn Balor
Analysis: All the winners made sense and were more than worthy of their respective awards, both Balor and Bayley have carried NXT as the faces of the brand, so seeing them pick up the main awards wasn't much of a surprise.
This is an idea that will probably end up being turned into a show, similar to the Slammys at some stage in the years to come, and hopefully NXT can do it right, by making feuds out of the awards, but for this year, it was simply just to recognize talent who had earned some praise.
Dash & Dawson def. The Ascension
The Ascension made their return to NXT, to provide what the commentary team slated, the current champions 'biggest test' to date, and the upcoming tag team managed to prove they certainly were up to the challenge.
The powerful team of Konnor and Viktor used their size and strength to their advantage for the majority of the matchup, and did have the upper hand for most of what turned out to be a short bout, but the champions took advantage of a distracted referee and hit the Shatter Machine for the victory.
Analysis: It's another good victory for Dash and Dawson who are proving to be one of the best tag teams in the company, but the way the Ascension have fallen since they moved to the main roster has made it very difficult to treat them as a real threat to any tag team, despite any hype from the commentary table.
Elias Samson def. Corey Hollis
The Drifter, made his debut in Florida, after his first showing took place over in London, and it was another simply squash victory for NXT's newest superstar, who dominated the match from start to finish, showing strong aggression, before hitting a neck-breaker to pick up the win.
Samson got on the microphone for the first time following the comfortable victory, to tell the fans that he is "What this place needs," before picking up his guitar and heading to the back.
Analysis: It was never going to be anything more than a squash match, the creative team are looking to make him seem like a threat until he enters his first meaningful feud, which should come soon.
Whilst everything he did in the ring was fine, he never seemed to gain much of a reaction from the crowd, and his character so far is very vague and lacking in excitement, it's only a matter of time before that guitar is used as a weapon as well.
Carmella won the Battle Royal to become the number one contender
The match featured all the NXT divas, apart from Nia Jax who was ruled unfit to compete just before the match started, something that Eva Marie celebrated behind her back, which may be a way of turning Jax face in the future.
All the divas made their way into the ring, Eva Marie had hoped for an elaborate entrance of her own, until it was cut short by Asuka who barged past her on the way to the ring, Marie took offense to it and squared up with her at the start, until a huge roundhouse kick took out the Total Divas star, who rolled under the ring.
After several rookie divas such as Liv Morgan and the debuting Aliyah had been eliminated, the match suddenly got more serious and it became clear who the favorites were, with Carmella being taken out by Emma and also falling outside the ring (under the ropes), it fell down to seemingly just three women.
With Billie Kay and Peyton Rose working hard to take out the matches favorite, Asuka, who had just got rid off her nemesis, Emma, the pair thought they had the Japanese star under control, but that wasn't the case, as she took both women out, and thought she had won the entire match.
But coming from behind, Eva Marie would throw Asuka out of the match and begin to celebrate, but just like Asuka, she was also wrong, and Carmella came back into the ring to eliminate Marie, to win the match to a fantastic pop!
During the celebrations, real life best friend, and Women's Champion, Bayley made her way to the ring, and the pair hugged it out as they celebrated Carmella's victory, and a title match is just around the corner.
Analysis: This one started very slow, but once it got going it improved, but it wasn't quite the main event level match most had hoped it would be, but it was good to see the number one contender-ship be taken so seriously.
Both Kay and Rose got plenty of time to shine, which was good to see as they continue to evolve in the company, and Eva Marie and Asuka's exchanges make it seem like the rookie diva maybe the next victim of some sharp kicks.
To see Carmella win was quite a surprise, as this author was expecting either Emma or Asuka to walk away the victor, but it's a pleasant surprise nonetheless, Carmella has worked very hard to stand out on her own, away from her team (Team SAWFT) and she has certainly earned the opportunity.
Score: 5.5/10
Last Week: N/A
It was a decent show overall, but nothing spectacular and was certainly below par from the level fans have become used to from NXT, but the show still had plenty of talking points, with the opening and main event segments being the most note worthy.
Seeing Carmella get her big break was fun to see, and it's good to see WWE paying attention to the females, something that NXT has got right from the start and continues to do so, but building a serious challenger to Bayley is going to be tough, as it's unlikely that Carmella takes the strap. Fans are patiently waiting for Asuka's moment, who seems the only potential candidate.
Other than that, the show had a lot of filler, with no stand out matches, as most were simply short and quick, but the episode in two weeks will feature both the Women's title match and the triple threat number one contenders battle, so that's an episode to look forward to.
Moment of the Night: Carmella becoming the new number one contender, you could see on her face that she appreciated the moment, and the reaction of the crowd was fantastic, it was a feel good way to end the first show of the year.
Star of the Night: Samoa Joe, yet again was superb, it's clear why the WWE wanted him to be apart of the roster and his experience and star power really does allow him to stand out, his microphone skills were brilliant and it set up a match that has great potential.