WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 7

After one of the biggest nights in brand history, WWE NXT continues to move forward. The February 7 edition of the gold brand included important fallout from Vengeance Day.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Apollo Crews in dominant fashion before turning to Bron Breakker, who beat Grayson Waller to retain the NXT Championship. He would speak on his plans for the future.

Roxanne Perez retained the NXT Women's Championship over both Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne after the two seemed to implode. Bayley was set to return to NXT to speak with both in a special edition of "Ding Dong, Hello!"

Sol Ruca looked to hurt Zoey Stark's pride by defeating her in a match. Valentina Feroz continued to learn how to win with Elektra Lopez in a big match against Lyra Valkyria.

This show looked back at a big night for NXT but also began to build the foundations for Stand & Deliver on April 1.

JD McDonagh Challenges Carmelo Hayes; Zoey Stark vs. Sol Ruca

Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams basked in the glory of the former's win over Apollo Crews. As Hayes turned to the future and Bron Breakker, JD McDonagh came out to challenge him, setting up a match for later.

McDonagh was treated like a much bigger deal here than he has been recently, but it still came off as a former top guy set up to lose to the new big name. WWE could have set this up over the week and hyped it more.

Inside the ring, Zoey Stark dominated Sol Ruca throughout their match. She finished it with her modified GTS.

Afterward, Stark tried to take some more cheap shots but walked right into a Sol Snatcher.

Ruca continues to look better, and she and Stark have chemistry to further explore. While the match was one-sided, it is clear why WWE plans to do more with these two in the coming months.

With each win, Stark inches closer to a title match. She is the best option on the roster to challenge Roxanne Perez at Stand & Deliver.

Result

Stark def. Ruca by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Ruca went for a springboard splash but landed on the knees of Stark, who then knocked her out by sending her face-first into the turnbuckle.
  
• Kiana James and Fallon Henley argued backstage until they ran into a surprise party to celebrate their NXT Women's Tag Team Championships win.
• Pretty Deadly got into an argument with Chase U during the party.
  
• Grayson Waller was shown complaining to Shawn Michaels, leading to a suspension.
• Tyler Bate challenged Waller to a match next week when his suspension is lifted.
  

Dabba-Kato vs. Dante Chen

Dabba-Kato threw around Dante Chen with ease.

When Chen finally got going, Kato stopped him with a chop and finished him off with a sit-out chokebomb.

Afterward, Kato said Apollo Crews got what was coming to him when he attacked him at Vengeance Day.

This was a near-complete squash, though the big man did briefly allow Chen to get in a solid offensive combination. What mattered was that Kato looked smooth as the dominant force.

He has always been a limited in-ring performer because of his size, but WWE has spent years building him up. This run will likely be make-or-break. He has major upside if he can put it all together.

Result

Kato def. Chen by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Chen fought out of the corner with a boot and an impressive combination of clotheslines and uppercuts to send Kato to his knees, but the big man knocked him out with a single chop.

Isla Dawn (w/ Alba Fyre) vs. Tatum Paxley

Tatum Paxley fought alone while Ivy Nile was nursing an injury. Without coaching, she could only fight so hard before Isla Dawn proved too much for her.

Dawn won with a standing elbow drop.

Paxley fought hard to make this interesting, but it was too short to be exciting. Hopefully, the teased tag team match of Dawn and Alba Fyre vs. Paxley and Nile will be given more of a spotlight.

It looks like Dawn is beginning to build steam in NXT with Fyre in her corner.

Together, they already come off as a better tag team to hold the gold than the current odd-couple champions of Fallon Henley and Kiana James.

Result

Dawn def. Paxley by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• In the training room earlier in the day, Dawn blamed Paxley for attacking Nikkita Lyons while Diamond Mine were trying to focus on Indus Sher.
• After the match, Fyre looked ready to attack Paxley, but Nile made the save.
  
• Katana Chance and Kayden Carter interrupted Roxanne Perez during an interview and taunted the champion about her lack of friends.
• Later, Perez announced she would face off against Chance and Carter with her partner, Meiko Satomura, next week.
  

Carmelo Hayes (w/ Trick Williams) vs. JD McDonagh

Carmelo Hayes and JD McDonagh traded big shots in this match, but it was the surprise return of Ilja Dragunov that made the difference.

The distraction allowed Melo to steal a pinfall win.

This was a very good television bout, even with the messy finish. The two are fantastic technicians and athletes who work well together. While neither man could afford a loss at this moment, the arrival of Dragunov protected The Necessary Evil after another big loss.

This was the right time to bring back The Czar, as McDonagh's attack on him had almost been forgotten. It is a shame that The Necessary Evil was not better built up in the time his rival was gone, though.

This ending did obscure what should have been the bigger story. Melo is going after Bron Breakker, but without the NXT champion in attendance, the brand just delayed its biggest story for a future week.

Result

Hayes def. McDonagh by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Melo tried to taunt McDonagh by "dribbling a basketball," but McDonagh "kicked" it out of the arena. It was a clever back-and-forth that does not translate to writing.
  
• McDonagh caught Melo running with a standing Spanish Fly for a near-fall and then went to the top rope, only to get caught with a side kick and springboard leg drop.
• After the match, Dragunov ran McDonagh out of the arena.
  

Lyra Valkyria vs. Valentina Feroz (w/ Wendy Choo)

Lyra Valkyria ran over Valentina Feroz with ease.

Elektra Lopez gave Feroz brass knuckles to use, but she hesitated and allowed Valkyria to pick up the win with a roundhouse kick.

This was a match to progress the story of Lopez and Feroz while giving Valkyria another win. It served its purpose, but it was barely a contest. It would have been nice to see more action before the predictable finish.

NXT has not done enough to make this weekly story interesting. Feroz needs to choose a side, so creative can start building another tag team in a division that needs depth.

The more interesting angle is Valkyria vs. Cora Jade, which got no development here, sadly.

Result

Valkyria def. Feroz by pinfall.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Feroz came out with Choo, seemingly trying to set up a tag team, but Lopez arrived to leave Feroz more conflicted.
  

Channing 'Stacks' Lorenzo vs. Odyssey Jones

Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo was overwhelmed by the power of Odyssey Jones. However, he found a way to ground the big man and then knocked him out with a running stomp to win.

This was a fine match, but Jones felt like an odd dance partner for The Underboss. The focus was to give Stacks a convincing win. He could have gotten that over plenty of wrestlers rather than beating someone NXT has been slowly building into a star.

It did not help that the two lacked chemistry. It was a match that began with Jones dominating and ended with The Underboss in command. There was no time when they worked together to do anything memorable.

To NXT's credit, Stacks has begun to feel like a bigger deal, but it has been taking away from Tony D'Angelo's mystique. He was one of NXT's top heels, but he just seems lost now.

Result

Stacks def. Jones by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• NXT showed a personal vignette of Wes Lee's journey to Vengeance Day. D'Angelo and Stacks interrupted Lee's interview to ask for compensation.
• Stacks tripped Jones into the ropes and then hit a springboard leg drop on the big man.
• Jinder Mahal talked up Indus Sher in a pre-recorded promo, promising to win gold.
  

Pretty Deadly vs. Chase U

Pretty Deadly came out depressed and disheveled, barely able to pull out their signature entrance taunts. However, they began to find their confidence as they instinctively worked in sync.

Thea Hail arrived in a panic, and the distraction left Duke Hudson out of the ring. Elton Prince and Kit Wilson planted Andre Chase with Spilt Milk.

The two hottest tag teams in NXT fought in what was the most story-driven match the brand has put on in months. While there have been better technical matches, this is the kind of contest NXT needs more than anything.

Wilson and Prince were electric selling their depression and slow rise back to confidence. Chase U remain one of the most over acts in NXT, making the most of every hot tag sequence.

From here, NXT looks to be moving forward with Gallus vs. Pretty Deadly and Schism vs. Chase U. Both have high potential to elevate the tag team division in NXT.

Result

Pretty Deadly def. Chase U by pinfall.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Hail questioned Tiffany Stratton's inflammatory words against Chase U. She was surprise-attacked by Ava Raine and dragged away.
  
• Prince completely missed a crossbody out of the corner and then bounced off Hudson until he was thrown easily out of the ring.
• Wilson asked, "What's the bloody point?" and Chase caught him in the ropes and punched him repeatedly.
• Pretty Deadly accidentally elbowed Chase in the face together, which began to build up the confidence of the heels.
• After the match, Gallus appeared on the stage to stare down Pretty Deadly.
  

'Ding Dong, Hello!' Featuring Jacy Jayne, Gigi Dolin and The End of Toxic Attraction

Bayley put over Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne as two of her favorites, and she worked hard to sell Toxic Attraction on staying together.

However, The Role Model could not pull it off as Jayne superkicked Dolin and sent her into the set door.

Outside of Bayley's presence, it was unclear why this was the main event. If this was supposed to be Toxic Attraction emulating The Rockers' break-up, it did not have the same level of impact.

While Dolin and Jayne have been an important tag team for NXT, they never made it to the top of WWE. Breaking them up now makes Toxic Attraction's whole run feel like a waste, especially when the company needs more women's tag teams.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Dolin and Jayne used the door for their entrance, prompting Bayley to call them pros.
• Toxic Attraction seemed to get on the same page as they began focusing on winning the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship from Damage CTRL.