On a special Christmas Eve edition of NXT, Stephanie Vaquer avenged a backstage attack at the hands of Cora Jade when she squared off with her rival in a high-profile grudge match.

Elsewhere, new No. 1 Contenders to the NXT Tag Team Championship were crowned, Charlie Dempsey defended the NXT Heritage Cup, and The Unholy Union returned to their former stomping ground to battle Fatal Influence in tag team action.

Find out what went down, who emerged victoriously, and how each match graded out in this recap.

Match Card

Announced in advance of Tuesday's show were:

• Christmas Chaos Fatal 4-Way Tag Team Match to Determine No. 1 Contenders: Lucien Price and Bronco Nima vs. Myles Borne and Tavion Heights vs. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger vs. Channing Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino
• NXT Heritage Cup Match: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey
• Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx
• Stephanie Vaquer vs. Cora Jade

Stephanie Vaquer vs. Cora Jade

Stephanie Vaquer avenged a backstage attack perpetrated by Cora Jade a few weeks ago, defeating her in singles competition to kick off the show.

Jade shined here, dominating the competition through the commercial break. A running knee into the corner missed and Vaquer sparked a comeback with Eat Defeat. She rolled to victory from there.

After the match, Kelani Jordan attacked Jade, delivering repeated cane shots about the body and sending the heel scurrying to close out the segment.

A good match that saw the right competitor go over, while simultaneously highlighting Jade in what was her most complete performance since returning from injury, this was a great way to kick off the show while projecting forward via Jordan's appearance.

Result

Vaquer defeated Jade

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• The Lowell Memorial Auditorium, home of this and last week's show, was the site of the December 22, 1997 episode of Raw. It remains one of the better holiday-themed broadcasts in WWE history, at the genesis of the Attitude Era.
• Booking Jade against the best wrestlers on the brand will not just result in strong matches, but it will also rebuild her confidence and get her back to the level she was at before her knee injury.
• Backstage, William Regal teased the return of the brass knuckles ahead of Lexis King's NXT Heritage Cup match against Charlie Dempsey.

NXT Heritage Cup: Lexis King vs. Charlie Dempsey

Lexis King is the new possessor of the NXT Heritage Cup, though not without controversy, after defeating Charlie Dempsey Tuesday night.

William Regal attempted to get King to utilize his trademark brass knuckles but the de facto babyface's reluctance earned him a hard right hand to the face from the future Hall of Famer.

In the process, those knuckles flew into the ring, garnering the attention of the referee, who thought Dempsey used them. He called for the bell, awarding King the fall, match, and cup via disqualification. King celebrated, kissing the cup while Regal looked on, mildly amused.

King lucking his way into a championship is on point for the character so from a creative standpoint, the booking here made sense. The match itself was a bit more frustrating as Dempsey worked a limb for a major portion of the match, only for King to ignore it and mount his comeback. It took the viewer out of the story and as a result, the match limped to a finish.

Result

King defeated Dempsey to win the cup

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Vic Joseph called out Dempsey for refusing to release a submission after the bell sounded to end the first round.
• King was soundly beaten down and outclassed by the heel in the second round. 
• King completely disregarded selling the knee that Dempsey worked over the entire second round, taking the viewer out of the story that had been established earlier. 

Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn vs. Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx

Former WWE women's tag team champions Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn returned to NXT Tuesday night to battle Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx of Fatal Influence.

Raw Superstars Katana Chance and Kayden Carter watched from the audience and the trio of Shotzi, Tatum Paxley, and Gigi Dolin appeared at ringside in an attempt to negate interference from women's North American champion Fallon Henley.

The heels dominated throughout, wearing Dawn down and isolating her from her partner. A hot tag to Fyre created a much-needed comeback and a headbutt from the former champion resulted in a double-down.

Tensions mounted at ringside between Fallon, Nyx, Chance, and Carter while Dawn and Fyre downed Jayne for the pinfall victory.

The match was solid but this was a great showcase for the women's tag team division in NXT. All four teams are legitimate tag team title contenders, except for the fact that the gold is currently unified into the main roster titles.

Maybe this sparks a change and reintroduces the NXT set of belts or, perhaps, it elevates one of the teams to challenge Bianca Belair and Naomi. Whatever the case, it was a welcome change to see so many women involved in a single segment, with all of them serving a purpose rather than appearing on TV just because.

Result

Fyre and Dawn def. Jayne and Nyx

Grade

B

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Backstage, a frustrated Jordan lashed out at Vaquer and Lola Vice, demanding they not tell her what to do as she seeks retaliation against Jade.

• Joseph and Booker T planted the seeds for a power struggle in Fatal Influence, questioning whether Jayne or Henley is the group's leader. 
• Backstage, Izzi Dame rejected Shawn Spears' offer to join him and warned Zaria that she is better on her own than with Sol Ruca. 

Dion Lennox vs. Ashante "Thee" Adonis

The friendship between Dion Lennox and Ashante "Thee" Adonis came to a head Tuesday in one-on-one action.

Nikkita Lyons appeared at ringside while Adonis controlled the pace. As Lennox mounted a comeback, Lyons placed Adonis' foot on the bottom rope, saving him from defeat. Moments later, Adonis scored a rollup to score the win and was immediately greeted by Lyons.

The match was raw but featured perfectly acceptable wrestling, but was just the background for the love triangle involving Adonis, Lyons, and Karmen Petrovic. No harm, no foul.

Result

Adonis defeated Lennox

Grade

C

Top Moments and Takeaways

• It feels like Adonis should be doing more than this. Remember that team with Cedric Alexander that was teased but never happened? 
• Lennox has potential but he looked as unpolished as he is at this point in his career.

Christmas Chaos Fatal 4-Way Match

A shot at the NXT Tag Team Championship was at stake in a Christmas Chaos Fatal 4-Way Match featuring the teams of Bronco Nima and Lucien Price, Myles Borne and Tavion Heights, Hank Walker and Tank Ledger, and Channing Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino.

A wild, chaotic brawl of a match with plunder aplenty and some fun spots culminated with interference from Santa Claus late as he laid out NXT North American champion Tony D'Angelo and revealed himself to be Ridge Holland.

The distraction allowed Nima and Price to lay out Lorenzo and score the defining victory.

This was the same, familiar holiday-themed brawl that WWE has traditionally produced at this time of the year, with the bonus of the high stakes that come along with a championship contender's match.

Ledger and Walker stood out, as they have numerous times in recent months, and a tag title run feels inevitable. For now, the idea of Nima and Price challenging the smaller, faster, high-flying Fraxiom is appealing.

Result

Nima and Price won

Grade

B+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Crusifino took a page out of Al Snow's book, delivering a bowling ball to the nether regions of Walker.

• The kendo stick shots would have landed a bit more with the audience if Jordan had not unloaded on Jade in the show's first segment.
• "This has been a jingle ball moshpit of chaos!" Joseph exclaimed on commentary.

The NXT Championship Picture Expands

After a controversial close to last week's show, which saw NXT champion Trick Williams and Eddie Thorpe pin each other simultaneously, the champ made his way to the ring to address the fans.

Iron Survivor winner Oba Femi interrupted and Thorpe followed. Words were exchanged before Williams laid down the challenge: a Triple Threat Match for the NXT Championship in two weeks in Los Angeles.

General manager Ava appeared and made the match official before Femi laid out Williams. He tried a powerbomb on Thorpe but the insufferable heel slipped out of his grasp and scurried to the floor, leaving the big man standing tall to close the show.

The outcome was a foregone conclusion and, outside of Femi impressing with his speed and agility for a guy of his size in street clothes, this was more of a formality of a segment than one in which anything major happened.

As it stands now, it feels very much like one of two things happens at New Year's Evil: either Femi wins the title or Thorpe cheats his way to a victory and is in the crosshairs of the big man moving forward.

Grade

C+

Top Moments and Takeaways

• Williams cooked Thorpe, telling him the idea of them being on the same level is hilarious.
• "You couldn't beat him one-on-one and now, with me in the equation, your chances are literally zero," Femi warned Thorpe. 
• Williams has been the guy in 2024 for NXT. Femi may be the guy for the brand, and the company as a whole, for years to come.

Overall Grade

For a pre-taped, holiday episode, this was a fun show.

We had quality wrestling from the women's division, the introduction of new tensions, hostilities, and rivalries in that roster, and a steady build to New Year's Evil in two weeks.

The much-hyped four-way tag match was enjoyable shlock and the finish furthered the rivalry between Holland and D'Angelo.

There is clear direction for most of the brand's top rivalries and the world title scene is actively rebuilding itself. The result is an intriguing show, if nothing else, as NXT continues to blend some guilty pleasure creative with quality in-ring work.

Grade: B