NXT
The introduction of Kayden Carter entered its next phase; she challenged Mia Yim in a battle of fan favorites that ended with Blasian Baddie as the victor. The celebration and sportsmanship was shortlived because it was time to introduce a fresh face to the NXT women’s division via surprise and force. B
The number one contender for the North American Title was crowned in grand fashion. Keith Lee endured two of NXT’s newest heavy hitters plus an old foe in Dominik Dijakovic. Lee’s rising from the mat has become his new thing as of late too. A-
Friday Night SmackDown
The Miz and John Morrison taunted the SmackDown crowd enough to bring out the New Day for a war of words. Kofi Kingston granted Miz a rematch, but Morrison paid dividends to help his old partner overcome the power of positivity. B+
Raw
With it being Royal Rumble season, it’s time for pointless contests featuring guys we haven’t seen working a program in some time. Enter Mojo Rawley, who was briefly used to further other stories, to do the same for Ricochet after announcing his rumble entrance. There wasn’t much flair for the dramatic or any doubt that Ricochet would put Mojo away. C+
The saga featuring Bobby Lashley, Lana, Rusev, and now, Liv Morgan continued another week. Enough said. F
Dynamite
Television viewers saw the first in-ring action for Brandi Rhodes and the Nighmare Collective. Thier interference in last week’s title match prompted them to face Kris Statlander and Shida. There was no Awesome Kong for this contest, and it proved to be the difference as Statlander scored the win as Brandi was forced to watch from the floor. B
NXT
Keith Lee came to proclaim his winning of the upcoming North American Championship match to which the Undisputed Era responded by unleashing a 4 on 1 attack with the intention of injuring Lee. The number one contender found reprieve in Tomasso Ciampa, but he would later run through NXT security in the Full Sail parking lot while on the hunt for Roddy Strong. A-
The Cruiserweight division had a triple threat match to advace the winner to a future championship match. The former champ, Lio Rush, would miss his opportunity to regain the title coming up short in the tilt. Isaiah Swerve Scott continued his hot run by besting Rush and Tyler Breeze, an NXT fave. B+
Booking saw fit to make the women’s battle royal the main event for the night. It didn’t disappoint either. At the same time, it featured a few faces who had not been seen in a while. The first eliminated, MJ Jenkins, joined Vanessa Borne in the contest. Kayden Carter, who ended up being another victim of Shayna Baszler along with Jenkins, rounded out our list of interesting performers. The top prize, a women’s championship match, was claimed by the most interesting of them all. Bianca Belair took the moment of the night becoming the next to compete for the title. A