At a time of uncertainty in WWE, NXT remains a shining light, and that was as clear as ever in the build to its latest premium live event. Vengeance Day 2024 promised big moments and great action from the future stars of the company.

Trick Williams was ready to pull double duty, facing Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship after teaming with Carmelo Hayes in the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final against Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin.

Roxanne Perez earned her opportunity to finally regain the NXT Women's Championship she did not lose one-on-one. She faced Lyra Valkyria in a battle of the gold brand's top women.

Oba Femi defended his North American Championship for the first time against former champion Dragon Lee.

Tony D'Angelo brought his family to war against OTM in a six-person tag team match, while Dijak brought the fight to Joe Gacy in a No Disqualification match.

Vengeance Day had a chance to be a special night for NXT, highlighting the future and potentially crowning Trick as the new top WWE Superstar.

Men's Dusty Classic Final: Trick Melo Gang vs. The Wolf Dogs

Trick Melo Gang looked great throughout this match but could not put their rivals away.

Carmelo Hayes took a Spear from Bron Breakker for Trick Williams, and Trick could not break up the pinfall, giving The Wolf Dogs the victory.

Going into the night, this looked like a showstealer, but it didn't live up to that billing. Breakker and Baron Corbin have found their chemistry as a team, but the spark between the rival tandems was not as clear.

A few miscues slowed this down, not allowing it to reach the lofty heights of The Wolf Dogs' semifinal battle with Nathan Frazer and Axiom. Still, it was a good enough performance as a first act in the Trick drama of the night.

The result made the most sense. Breakker may be headed to the main roster soon, but he and Corbin have more story left to tell as a tag team. If the rules allow, they could even use the Dusty Classic win to challenge The Judgment Day instead of The Family.

Trick and Melo told a good story together. Hayes even took the shot for his teammate, potentially protecting his friend's NXT Championship shot. But it did set up questions about Melo's loyalty ahead of the main event.

Result

The Wolf Dogs def. Trick Melo Gang by pinfall to win the men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Vic Joseph announced the return of Wade Barrett for one night to NXT commentary. Wishing best of health to Booker T as he recovers.

• Barrett tried his first attempt at riffing on Trick's theme. The magic was not there. Overall though, the color commentator was great throughout the match.
• Corbin and Breakker came out on bikes that they walked up to the main ramp. It was a goofy visual, but that may have been the point.
  
• During Trick's hot tag, he seemed to tweak his knee on a kip up, which would be an injury to watch in the main event.
• A rough punch during the match left Trick bleeding from his mouth.
• In the trainer's room, Melo explained that he took the Spear for Trick to protect him for  the main event.
  

No Disqualification: Dijak vs. Joe Gacy

Dijak thought he was prepared for Joe Gacy, but his new rival brought even more sadistic glee to this No Disqualification match.

Hard Justice barely pulled out the win with Feast Your Eyes, but he was disturbed by the smile of Gacy after the finish.

This was as advertised. It was a creative hardcore brawl between two talented, hard-working veterans. They made the most of their minutes to tell an engaging story that finally allowed Dijak to pick up a needed pay-per-view victory.

This was a joyful war, driven by the chemistry of both men. Gacy especially sold his glee in bringing the fight to Dijak, the first man in a long time to take the offensive against Hard Justice.

Given the history of Dijak's rivalries, this is not over. The two will have to show how they can keep up this creative high in future matches.

Result

Dijak def. Gacy by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• Gacy came out to a slightly modified theme, including an opening creepy laugh, but he still had the yellow mask titantron.
• Gacy brought out plastic children's toys and poured them on a table at ringside. Dijak took a bad bump off the apron through the table.
  
• Hard Justice trapped his rival in a trash can and then stomped on it until it morphed around him. Gacy responded by running down Dijak with the trash can on his head.
• Gacy blinded Dijak with duct tape. Hard Justice managed to hit Feast Your Eyes blind but could not find his opponent on the mat to pin. When he finally got the tape off, he found Gacy upside down in the corner staring at him.

The Family vs. OTM (w/ Scrypts)

Jaida Parker and Adrianna Rizzo started out this brawl until OTM forced the tag to isolate Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo.

Even Scrypts helped beat down on Stacks. When Tony D'Angelo got the hot tag, he was unstoppable, taking out Lucien Price with the Forget About It.

This match lost none of its energy throughout its 10-minute run time and would have been a solid opener for NXT television. As a PPV match, though, it was fairly forgettable, especially as The Family picked up a predictable victory.

The Family remains too big for OTM especially since Parker has not shown she can seriously perform yet. Price and Bronco Nima are getting better steadily but have not found their best form so far.

However, major credit to Rizzo, who has fallen right in with The Family. She and Stacks are matching The Don's energy and come off big time because of it.

Result

The Family def. OTM by pinfall.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• The Family attacked their rivals from behind to start the match, looking for immediate revenge from Tuesday's sneak assault.
• D'Angelo threw a dazed Stacks onto the crowd, followed by Rizzo hitting a clean frog splash to the outside.
  

• Jacy Jayne led the early sales of the Chase U calendar and announced that it would be on sale in WWE Shop from Monday.
• In a pre-taped video, Kiana James and Izzi Dame talked down Kelani Jordan as the "future" of NXT.

NXT Women's Championship: Lyra Valkyria (c) vs. Roxanne Perez

Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez were battering each other in a physical battle until Lola Vice hit the ring to cash in her Breakout Tournament contract to join the title match.

Vice hit her best shot on both women with the roundhouse kick, but they each kicked out. Valkyria ducked the second roundhouse and hit the Nightwish for the victory.

This was a match in two halves. Perez and Valkyria worked the opening section like a technical main event, building toward a 20-minute classic.

The pace picked up when Vice arrived, pushing this into a chaotic Triple Threat that showed the best of what the Breakout star can do. It also showed her weaknesses as a performer with some awkward transitions and a sloppy finish.

That said, this worked as a whole. The crowd was completely invested in the action, especially the struggles of Perez, who was screwed out of her title opportunity again.

It was the right move for Valkyria to retain here. Vice is far from ready, and Perez losing cheap sets up an exciting rematch for WrestleMania weekend. That is going to be a special match.

Result

Valkyria def. Perez and Vice by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Perez took a brutal neck landing on a German suplex. Luckily, she popped right back up.
• Tatum Paxley tried to stop Vice's cash-in, but she failed. Later, Paxley knocked Perez out of the way to set up Valkyria's win.
• Vice ran over both women in their respective corners with hip attacks, but Perez ducked her second attempt and laid out the challenger.
• Backstage, Perez and Vice kept brawling as officials attempted to break them up.
  

North American Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Dragon Lee

Dragon Lee started this fight fast, but the power of Oba Femi slowed him down.

Learning throughout his battle with the luchador, the champion retained with an impactful powerbomb.

This was an incredible battle of styles that stole the show. The way Femi kept answering Dragon through sheer power was impressive. He came off as an unstoppable force while telling a complete story in the ring.

Femi should not be this good. He signed with WWE in December 2021 while he was still at the University of Alabama. He had no wrestling experience, yet two years later, he looks like a star and is stealing the show from veterans.

It always helps to work with one of the best in-ring performers in WWE today. Dragon has consistently pushed his opponents to greater heights. He and Femi have awesome chemistry that should be utilized in the future.

The future is bright for the North American champion. It's hard to imagine anyone taking the gold from him any time soon. In fact, it would not be surprising if he is still holding the belt when Wes Lee returns from injury looking for his match.

Result

Femi def. Dragon by pinfall to retain the North American Championship.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• Dragon caught Femi in an octopus hold, but the big man dragged himself to the ropes and broke it up with his teeth on the top rope.
• The luchador pulled off an incredible sit-out powerbomb on the champion.
• WWE showed an intriguing vignette that told a Japanese proverb of three faces.

• Malik Blade and Edris Enofé tried to reflect on their Dusty Classic loss only to face a challenge from Nathan Frazer and Axiom.

NXT Championship: Ilja Dragunov (c) vs. Trick Williams (w/ Carmelo Hayes)

Carmelo Hayes joined ringside to support Trick Williams, but he kept getting in the way. He caused a referee bump that saved Ilja Dragunov from a three-count.

At the end, Trick ran right into a Torpedo Moscow that sealed the champion's win.

Afterward, Melo attacked Trick's knee and laid out a Trick Melo Gang shirt on his friend.

This was phenomenal drama undercut by some messy booking down the stretch. Both men leaned into this bloody brutal battle that is by far the best performance of Trick's career. The way they played the crowd made for a special atmosphere.

Dragunov leaned into a heel role, though Melo's involvement at ringside distracted from that dynamic. The story of the match was a bit too much about him rather than the competitors, especially sold in the closing stretch.

The result was a shock, even with the aftermath. The crowd was ready for Trick to complete his storied rise, but he fell just short. Dragunov's next title defense is likely to be overshadowed by the aftermath of Melo and Trick falling out.

The signs were too clear for Melo to stay face. No one else could have been the one to lay out Trick, and this was the right moment for the turn.

Melo vs. Trick is the money program for Stand & Deliver on WrestleMania weekend.

Result

Dragunov def. Trick by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship.

Grade

A-

Notable Moments

• Trick's busted lip from the opener reopened early on.
• The Mad Dragon enjoyed taunting Melo at ringside as he suplexed Trick on the floor. Later, Dragunov sent Melo into Trick's knee on the steel steps.
  
• Trick countered the H Bomb with a First 48, and Melo went wild cheering at ringside.
• The crowd was completely behind Trick in a way it had not been heard for much of the night.
• Trick pulled out an H-Bomb of his own for a near-fall. He went for the bicycle knee but stumbled on his injured knee. This allowed Dragunov to hit a pair of H-Bombs including one diving for a shocking near-fall.
• The crowd went wild as Trick hit a discus knee for a close near-fall.
• After the beatdown, Melo blamed the fans for what he did to Trick.
  

Overall Show

NXT delivered a night to remember at Vengeance Day, but it's one that comes off as a preamble to the top program NXT is ready to produce.

The opener set up vulnerabilities for Trick Williams that cost him his shot at Ilja Dragunov in the main event. However, both matches suffered a bit from the need to set up something bigger down the line.

Trick and Dragunov can have an even-better contest down the line when he gets past Carmelo Hayes, and Trick vs. Melo feels like the kind of battle that made the former black-and-gold brand so special: A personal war at the tail-end of a memorable friendship.

Roxanne Perez and Lyra Valkyria gave fans a taste of what they can do together, but Lola Vice's involvement changed the dynamic entirely, leaving a sense that the greatest work is yet to come.

Dragon Lee and Oba Femi stole the show in what could be the night that made a future megastar. Dijak and Joe Gacy overdelivered in a filler position, but The Family vs. OTM could have been left off the card.

As a whole, NXT ensured fans remembered this night. However, it is Stand & Deliver that will be the gold brand's greatest night of 2024 considering the build to come.

Overall Grade: B+