WWE NXT Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from February 21

Bron Breakker is a fighting champion, and he was ready to defend against a former WWE champion in Jinder Mahal on the February 21 edition of WWE NXT. Carmelo Hayes was certain to be watching closely.

The Schism traumatized Thea Hail after kidnapping her two weeks ago. Andre Chase and Duke Hudson wanted revenge against The Dyad, hoping to take the grin off Joe Gacy's face.

Gallus would fight Edris Enofé and Malik Blade, who looked to earn a future NXT Tag Team Championship match. Indi Hartwell has a plan to shut up Jacy Jayne one-on-one.

Trick Williams wanted to earn some respect by defeating Ilja Dragunov. With Tatum Paxley in her corner, Ivy Nile was ready to take down Alba Fyre as well as make a statement to Isla Dawn.

NXT had a solid card for Tuesday night, as it continued to build toward Roadblock and Stand & Deliver.

Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams

Credit: WWE.com

Trick Williams has unfinished business with Ilja Dragunov and tried to make a statement at his expense.

Trick Williams fought hard throughout this match, but he was no match for the resilient Ilja Dragunov. The Czar put him away with the Torpedo Moscow, much to the dismay of JD McDonagh at ringside.

This was easily the best match of Trick's career. Throughout the contest, he looked like a competitor who could go for gold without Carmelo Hayes. More importantly, he made it clear he is ready to make a quick move to the main roster when Melo jumps.

Dragunov is a special performer, and he did not lose any of his mystique by giving Williams some run. In the end, though, this match was always in The Czar's bag.

NXT is waiting for the right moment to give us one last Dragunov vs. McDonagh match, and it has the potential to be one of the best of the year.

Result

Dragunov def. Trick by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Trick talked the talk before his match, warning Dragunov about the pain he would inflict upon him in their fight.
• McDonagh arrived halfway through the match to join commentary.
  
• Williams went for a spinning kick, but The Czar caught him, planted him with a powerbomb and then nearly knocked him out with a forearm to the floor.
• Carmelo Hayes congratulated Trick on his performance and warned Tyler Bate to stay away from the NXT Championship.
• Fallon Henley promised to apologize to Kiana James in person. Later, they shook hands in her office.
  

Chase U (w/ Thea Hail) vs. The Dyad (w/ Joe Gacy and Ava Raine)

Tyler Bate told the NXT Universe that he was ready to begin the next stage of his journey, but Joe Gacy interrupted. The Schism surrounded the ring, but Chase U made the save.

While Andre Chase got rolling late in this match, Ava Raine distracted him, leaving Duke Hudson to take a double knee facebuster from both Jagger Reid and Rip Fowler to steal the win.

This was a delightful tag team match that continues to build the legacy of Chase U. Hudson and Chase have found their chemistry as a tag team, and it showed going up against one of NXT's best tandems.

Schism needed to win here to further build the rivalry. Until Chase, Hudson and Hail can find their focus, Gacy's group will continue to dominate them.

It was odd that Bate got caught up in this. His involvement was unnecessary, even if it was to set up his match with Gacy for next week.

Result

Dyad def. Chase U by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Hudson grabbed the leg of Reid to set up Chase to hit him with an enzuigiri. Hudson then booted him straight into a superkick from Chase.
• Hail could be heard throughout the arena, screaming at Raine to keep away.
• The audience was loud throughout, more so than usual even for a Chase U match.
• After the match, Hudson told Chase he needed to let Hail grow up and walked out.
  
• Roxanne Perez joined Meiko Satomura's training class and was the only one left standing after the warm-up. Perez held on, and Satomura told her that heart was more important than strength. This segment was put together well.
  

Jacy Jayne vs. Indi Hartwell

Jacy Jayne and Indi Hartwell fought back and forth throughout this contest.

When Jayne finally took over and landed a hard kick on Indi Wrestling, Gigi Dolin struck. She attacked her former friend and sent her running.

Before Dolin's arrival, this was not much of a match. It was fine but hardly felt like the showcase Jayne needed to stand out as a solo star. However, the crowd reaction for the return of Dolin was enough to elevate the segment.

These two have chemistry that was built over years as a tag team. They will need to translate to singles action fast in order to earn a big spot on a forthcoming major NXT show.

Result

Jayne def. Hartwell by disqualification.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Hartwell caught Jayne with a series of strikes and then a spinebuster for a near-fall.
  
• Drew Gulak put over Charlie Dempsey as the right kind of performer to succeed in WWE unlike Hank Walker.
  
• Sol Ruca talked about her desire to always get better and her need for a rematch with Zoey Stark. But Stark wanted to focus on Meiko Satomura not Ruca.
  

Gallus vs. Edris Enofé and Malik Blade

Edris Enofé and Malik Blade fought hard and fast against Gallus, but Mark Coffey and Wolfgang were too powerful for them.

Gallus finished them with combination offense.

Despite some recent hype between them, Blade and Enofé got squashed. This might have been a better spot for a lesser tag team, but clearly Gallus is a major priority for NXT going forward.

Their first first title defense will be against Pretty Deadly, and the hype is rising for this contest. The two teams are among the best in NXT, coming in hot from NXT UK.

Result

Gallus def. Enofé and Blade by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Two mystery men arrived with an anniversary cake for Gallus. They explained afterward that it was the two-year anniversary of losing to Pretty Deadly.
  
• Enofé took out Wolfgang outside and then hit Coffey with a diving elbow in the ring.
• After Gallus wiped out two guys who were delivering a cake on behalf of Pretty Deadly, Kit Wilson and Elton Prince smacked them with steel chairs and threw them into the steel steps outside.
• Dabba-Kato explained why he attacked Apollo Crews, blaming him for getting left behind when Crews headed to NXT.
  
• Stevie Turner talked about the character background of Lyra Valkyria.
  

Von Wagner (w/ Mr. Stone) vs. Tony D'Angelo (w/ Channing 'Stacks' Lorenzo)

Tony D'Angelo made it look easy to dominate Von Wagner. Mr. Stone sat on a steel chair, not focused on the match because Wagner took this bout without his guidance. The Don won with a fisherman suplex.

This was almost embarrassing. Wagner got thrown around by D'Angelo and barely got in any offense. While this story with Stone continues to stall, Wagner is losing all credibility. Something needs to change quick.

D'Angelo seems to be building himself back up, but he lost a lot of steam even before his injury. He and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo need more help, or The Don needs to pick up some memorable wins. Right now, his odds against Dijak are not looking good.

Result

D'Angelo def. Wagner by pinfall.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• The Don antagonized Wagner until he accepted a match despite Stone's insistence he not fight.
• The Don planted Wagner with a spinebuster with ease.
• D'Angelo challenged Dijak to a Jailhouse Street Fight at Roadblock on March 7.
  

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

Alba Fyre found a worthy challenger in Ivy Nile, who caught her in the dragon sleeper. However, Fyre fought out and planted her with a Gory Bomb to seal the win.

This was rushed more than it needed to be. Nile has not been allowed enough time to test herself against top competition. With weeks of build behind this match, it needed to be more than a sprint verging on a squash.

While NXT has made Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Nile and Tatum Paxley feel like a complete feud, the matches have yet to get enough time to make this a memorable angle.

If NXT does break up Nile and Paxley due to the distrust between them, it would be a shame. It would also leave the brand without one more necessary tag team.

Result

Fyre def. Nile by pinfall.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Nikkita Lyons did not know who attacked her, but Tiffany Stratton got in her face and told her to disappear for a year.
• Paxley watched Lyons' interview and seemed more focused on that than the coming match. She told Nile she would stay out of the bout, but Nile insisted she be there.
• Paxley got knocked off the apron by Nile accidentally.
• Wes Lee announced another NXT North American Championship Open Challenge next week.
  

NXT Championship: Bron Breakker (c) vs. Jinder Mahal

Jinder Mahal had to fight alone against Bron Breakker, but he had a strong game plan. However, the champion showed how explosive he can be, winning with a surprise Spear.

Carmelo Hayes appeared on the stage, but the feed cut to the production truck where Grayson Waller told Shawn Michaels to meet him face-to-face at Roadblock.

Despite NXT putting some decent hype behind this one-week build, the match was merely OK. It ended faster than expected and lacked drama. Even the finish felt sudden, which did not make The Modern Day Maharaja look strong in defeat.

Breakker vs. Melo should be NXT's easiest layup. Instead, the brand keeps putting roadblocks (pun not intended) in the way of them fighting. At this point, almost everything else pointing toward Stand & Deliver on April 1 has more hype.

It is time to deliver the expected build and give the talent the space to sell a great title bout.

Result

Breakker def. Mahal by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• In a pre-match promo, Mahal explained that he chose to fight Breakker now because he felt he was vulnerable around this time.
• The Creed Brothers brawled with Indus Sher, sending both to the back.
• The champion went for a bulldog but ran into the boot of Mahal. Luckily, Breakker escaped the grip of the challenger as he went for the Khallas.