WWE NXT Results: Winners, Live Grades, Reaction and Highlights From Jan. 9

Following up on a wild NXT New Year's Evil, the January 9 edition of WWE NXT featured a tag team title match and the start of the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Bronco Nima and Lucien Price earned a shot at Tony D'Angelo and Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo by defeating former tag team champions Chase U. Who would walk away with the gold?

The men's Dusty Classic would begin with Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin facing Gallus, while Hank Ledger and Tank Ledger fought Nathan Frazer and Axiom.

Nikkita Lyons looked for revenge against Blair Davenport, battling her one-on-one. Could she finally make her attacker pay for stalling her career?

Cora Jade and Gigi Dolin clash in singles action, while Fallon Henley introduced Tiffany Stratton to farm life.

The gold brand promised a solid show that would continue key stories into the future.

Nikkita Lyons vs. Blair Davenport

Nikkita Lyons and Blair Davenport started brawling in the parking lot before the show.

That fight continued as the show began, starting the match early.

While Lyons used her strength to throw around Davenport, the heel caught her rival with a chop block in the ropes followed by a pair of short-arm knee strikes for the win.

This was a solid physical battle that showed Lyons is picking up where she left off. She and Davenport have chemistry to explore that could be more apparent in a longer and more competitive match.

Instead, this ended at the five-minute mark to perhaps highlight Lyons needs more time to get things right before she can make Davenport pay.

This was the right time to keep the Iron Survivor winner's momentum. She needed the win here more than Lyons, who will get it back in a match with more hype down the line.

Result

Davenport def. Lyons by pinfall.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Lyons suplexed Davenport across the ring and then hit a spinning senton in the corner followed by a Samoan drop for a near-fall.
  

Dusty Classic: Gallus vs. Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker struggled for tag team synergy but still protected each other throughout.

Breakker speared Wolfgang to set up Corbin for End of Days on Mark Coffey to win.

After a short opener, this battle went overly long but was an engaging showcase, especially for Breakker. He looked like he was working a different level to everyone else.

The four teams worked a solid, hard-hitting battle that showed the value of Gallus in a tag division that has lost some established teams such as The Creed Brothers and Los Lotharios recently.

Since its inception, the Dusty Classic has struggled to highlight the complete tag team division, putting together makeshift tandems for the tournament. That continues this year with teams like Breakker and Corbin as well as Nathan Frazer and Axiom.

This hurts the credibility of established teams like Gallus who lost to a duo that was destroying the Performance Center to hurt each other a few months ago.

Hopefully, the ultimate plan is not for Breakker and Corbin to win it all. They can tell a great story together, but they are not a tag team yet.

Result

Breakker and Corbin def. Gallus by pinfall to advance in the men's Dusty Classic.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Cody Rhodes narrated a video package on the Dusty Classic.
• Carmelo Hayes convinced Trick Williams that they should tag together in the men's tournament.
• NXT showed the complete bracket for the Classic and announced that the final would happen at Vengeance Day on February 4.
• Corbin missed Wolfgang with a right hand, landing a punch squarely on the steel post. This left him with an injured hand through the home stretch of the bout.
• Breakker went on a rampage during his hot tag and had the crowd going wild, especially after a suplex on both members of Gallus.
• Coffey got in Ridge Holland's face backstage, warning that he would not last without friends in NXT.
  

Lola Vice Teases Challenging Lyra Valkyria Until Tatum Paxley Makes the Save

Lyra Valkyria announced that a Battle Royal next week would lead to a final Fatal 4-Way No. 1 Contender match to determine who she would face at Vengeance Day.

Lola Vice and Elektra Lopez interrupted, and Valkyria challenged Vice to cash in her title shot. Instead, Lopez and Vice attacked The Valkyrie until Tatum Paxley made the save.

As a partial developmental brand, NXT does occasionally deliver promo segments like this. It is good practice for Valkyria and Vice, but neither seemed all that comfortable delivering the back-and-forth in front of an almost silent crowd.

Vice is still in the learning stage of her career and does not come off as a serious threat to capture the NXT Women's Championship.

However, Valkyria and Paxley vs. Vice and Lopez is a solid tag team match that NXT has built and could work as a preview for the women's Dusty Classic.

Grade

D

Notable Moments

• Paxley yelled after Vice and Lopez that they "could never break them up" and that she and Valkyria were "made for each other".
  
• The story of Tiffany Stratton's day as a farm hand with Fallon Henley played out as she realized the hard work that went into its upkeep. This lived up to the hype and should not be the end of Stratton and Henley working together.
  

Josh Briggs vs. Oro Mensah

Noam Dar tried his best to keep Oro Mensah in this match, but he could not slow Josh Briggs when he hit the running clothesline for the victory.

This was a complete squash but one that made complete sense. The big man is trying to establish himself as a solo act and had a bone to pick with Mensah.

He needed to win this with dominance. It sets up a rematch with The Scottish Supernova for the Heritage Cup sooner than later.

Meta-Four cannot catch many breaks, but they are entertaining enough to make up for a rash of losses. Dar is a great veteran to push Briggs up the ranks in NXT.

Result

Briggs def. Mensah by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Briggs interrupted Meta-Four making fun of the breakup of the country boys and Fallon Henley. He challenged Mensah to a match next.
• The Scottish Supernova got in Briggs' face right after the bell rang.
  

NXT Tag Team Championships: The Family (c) vs. OTM

After a dramatic battle, The Family got some help from Adriana Rizzo that took Scrypts out.

Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo blasted Bronco Nima outside while Tony D'Angelo hit Forget About It on Lucien Price to win.

OTM may not have the most varied move set, but they deliver exciting matches. They pushed The Family with multiple memorable near-falls. This match hit its top gear.

This is likely the best these teams can do together, so there's little reason to go back to it. OTM will need to regroup and find a fresh rivalry.

The Family with Rizzo should stay at the top of the tag team division for a while. D'Angelo remains one of NXT's most capable performers and has pushed The Underboss to compete at a new level.

Result

The Family def. OTM by pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Nima saved Price from a double-team powerbomb then planted The Don with The OTM, but D'Angelo kicked out.
• Scrypts helped up Nima and pushed him in to save Price after he took the Bada Bing Bada Boom.
• Rizzo knocked Scrypts off the top rope to stop his interference.
• In the parking lot, Jaida Parker told OTM that they needed her, and the group agreed.
  
• NXT Anonymous caught Jacy Jayne coaching the female students of Chase U on what they need to do to save the university.

Cora Jade vs. Gigi Dolin

Cora Jade grabbed the referee to save herself and then planted Gigi Dolin with the Jaded to win.

This was relatively flat. Dolin has lost much of her credibility with flat booking in 2023 and hardly looked like a serious threat to Jade. The action also lacked for highlights with a slow pace over just four minutes.

It was a fine for what it was, though, particularly another win for Jade, who is the most likely top contender to Lyra Valkyria in the coming weeks.

However, Jade still needs to open up her move set to hang with the top women in the division, especially if she is facing The Valkyrie at a premium live event.

Result

Jade def. Dolin by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• The crowd took a little while to get into the action but did give the women a dueling chant as they began ramping up the action.
  

Dusty Classic: Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger

While Hank Walker and Tank Ledger looked great early on, Axiom wiped out Hank with a running knee to set up the Phoenix Splash from Nathan Frazer to win.

Hank and Tank were the highlight of this match, showcasing their team synergy and unique power moves together. Frazer and Axiom looked like two exciting individuals in comparison.

For that reason, the wrong team won again in the Dusty Classic, but Frazer and Axiom have more obvious chemistry as a team if this is a long-term plan.

If these teams wanted to fight again with more time, it would be welcome. They have something together that could be a key piece to elevating the tag team division.

Result

Frazer and Axiom def. Hank and Tank by pinfall to advance in the men's Dusty Classic.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Frazer and Axiom's joint entrance could work, but it was an awkward edit for Round 1.
  
• Hank blasted Frazer with a big boot, and Hank and Tank then slammed him with a dual avalanche.
• Malik Blade and Edris Enofé tried to focus on the Dusty Classic, but Brinley Reece arrived to offer them remedies for future success.
  

North American Championship: Dragon Lee (c) vs. Lexis King

Lexis King did not look ready for Dragon Lee, who was impossible to stop. The luchador put him away with Destination Dragon.

Oba Femi headed to the ring to cash in his Breakout contract and took down Dragon with an elevated powerbomb to claim the North American Championship.

Dragon vs. King was a decent match, but the real goal was to set up the surprise cash-in. This was a huge endorsement for the new champion.

Femi has barely gotten started in NXT, but it seems the stalling was just to give the big man his best spotlight to shine. He looks like an unstoppable force from his booking in the past month.

Dragon did what he could with a short reign, delivering solid matches on NXT and SmackDown. However, the goal was always to transition to someone who works the gold brand exclusively going forward.

While the action was forgettable, the result was one of most exciting in recent NXT history. This was a true commitment to the future overnight.

Result

Dragon def. King by pinfall to retain the North American Championship; Femi def. Dragon by pinfall to become the new North American champion.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Dragon told Ava that his visa issues were resolved. He was confronted by King, who convinced him to sign a contract for their match in the main event.
• King mocked Femi backstage, giving the Breakout Tournament winner an idea to watch the main event closely.
• Trey Bearhill confronted King early in his match until officials sent him to the back.
  

Overall Show

NXT drifted along through much of the night only to deliver one of its biggest moments in months at the very end.

The action was solid across the board but fairly predictable. The champions retained, the non-established teams beat the veteran tag teams in the Dusty Classic, and Cora Jade and Josh Briggs picked up expected quick wins.

However, Oba Femi changed everything. After an eye-opening run in the men's Breakout Tournament, he captured the North American Championship, solidifying him as the newest top star in NXT.

He should be fun to watch in 2024, setting a new standard for the gold brand.

Fallon Henley and Tiffany Stratton's story continued in multiple fun vignettes that are a highlight to watch in the coming days.

Ilja Dragunov will hopefully return soon followed by NXT delivering its most hyped match going into 2024. Until then, it will be on the gold brand to deliver fresh moments like this to keep the show moving.

Grade: C+