NXT ended the year for WWE on December 31 with the NXT Year End Awards, celebrating the last year of great action and moments.

Alongside big categories to be awarded like Male and Female Superstar of the Year and Moment of the Year, the women of NXT stepped up to compete.

Kayden Carter and Katana Chance returned to NXT to compete against Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson as well as Shotzi and Gigi Dolin in a triple threat tag match.

Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice hoped to end a year where they both broke out with a great performance and momentum-building win.

The black-and-silver brand would also continue to build major hype for New Year's Evil, which would feature Trick Williams vs. Oba Femi vs. Eddy Thorpe and Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia for NXT's top titles.

Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice

Kelani Jordan finally got rolling in this physical battle with Lola Vice, but Cora Jade got involved. The distraction backfired, allowing Jordan to roll up Vice with a bridge to win.

Afterward, Jade attacked Jordan until Stephanie Vaquer made the save. Vice accidentally caught Vaquer with a spinning back fist.

On a night lacking for big-time matches, Jordan and Vice got the necessary time to deliver a quality performance, complete with interesting teases for where both women could go in the new year.

Jordan needed this rebound win as she enters 2025 as a potential NXT main event star awaiting her next opportunity.

The finish was messier than needed, but it left interesting questions for all involved in the aftermath. Jade has created multiple interesting rivals.

While Jordan has hinted at a possible heel turn in the last month, it was actually Vice that was placed in the possible heel role throughout this match.

The women's division could use more heel representation, especially once Giulia captures the NXT Women's Championship. Vice might rise higher by returning to a heel role in 2025.

Result

Jordan def. Vice by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• After sending her to the outside, Vice yelled at Jordan that this was Jordan's fault as Vice did not want this match.
• In a pre-taped video, Giulia talked up Roxanne Perez as well as the legacy of the other top women that have held the NXT Women's Championship in the past.
  
• Oba Femi vs. Josh Briggs vs. Dijak was named Match of the Year for NXT. Briggs talked from home about how special this honor was to him.
  

• After Jade watched Vaquer, Jordan and Vice argue, Ava told her that she would face all four next week for a Women's North American Championship opportunity.
  

"All Ego" Ethan Page vs. Cedric Alexander

During an interview with Cedric Alexander, "All Ego" Ethan Page arrived to threaten Alexander. The two brawled all the way to the ring, starting their match early.

Page went after the mouth of Alexander throughout the match. He knocked Alexander's mouth guard out with a boot then hit a cutter to take the win.

This was the best spot NXT has put Alexander in since he first returned to the brand. He sold how badly Je'Von Evans had been hurt by Page and why he needed this fight with Page.

The pace of this contest made Alexander look better than has in a long time and showed the serious value he has in NXT, even if it was ultimately on the shorter side.

Credit to Page as well, who has shown his talent time and again since arriving in NXT. His new aggression is making him look like more of a top heel threat than he has ever been before.

Result

Page def. Alexander by pinfall.

Grade

B+

Notable Moments

• In his interview, Alexander said that Evans' jaw was wired shut, but The Young OG still planned to get his revenge on All Ego at New Year's Evil.
• Vic Joseph said that Evans had to spend his holidays drinking food through a straw.
• After the match, All Ego smashed the left hand of Alexander in a tool box, possibly breaking his fingers.
  
• Joe Hendry in NXT won NXT Moment of the Year. He thanked the fans and reminded everyone that could re-appear at any time.
  

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter vs. Meta-Girls vs. Shotzi and Gigi Dolin

Fatal Influence distracted the referee, allowing Jacy Jayne to knock down Gigi Dolin and set up Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson to connect with a wheelbarrow cutter for the victory.

Alba Fyre and Alba Fyre interrupted the celebration of The Meta-Girls and challenged them to a match in the new year.

The mix of main roster and NXT talent involved here sold this as more of a women's tag team division match than a pure developmental brand clash.

With how much the main roster has struggled to book tag teams like Chance and Carter as well as The Unholy Union, a longer NXT run might do some of these teams.

This NXT crowd was completely behind Chance and Carter in a way that has not translated to the main roster. The two also looked a bit rusty in this action, growing more confident later in the action.

The rustiest performer though was Shotzi. Hopefully, she is all right after a rough landing. It may be best for the future that Shotzi and Dolin take that double-team dive out of their playbook.

Result

Legend and Jackson def. Dolin and Shotzi and Carter and Chance by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Carter lifted Chance in a handstand from the top rope before planting her on Jackson for a near-fall that Dolin and Shotzi needed to break up.
• Dolin lifted the ropes for Shotzi to dive through, but Shotzi got her foot stuck on the rope for a scary landing on the floor.
• Nathan Frazer and Axiom won the award for NXT Tag Team of the Year. OTM interrupted Fraxiom's acceptance speech to declare 2025 their year.
  

Sol Ruca vs. Izzi Dame

Outside the ring, Izzi Dame threw Zaria into a diving moonsault from Sol Ruca. The distraction allowed Dame to hit the I-Drive for the victory.

Ruca remains one of the ideal stars to work in the NXT system. She is learning from each performance and showing more throughout.

This was a messy showing for her, but she never got discouraged when things went sideways. That fearlessness will lead to more positives than negatives in the future.

Dame beating Ruca was a surprise, but NXT is refocusing on her while selling that Ruca is stuck at a crossroads with her odd friendship with Zaria.

Hopefully, NXT is not losing track of what makes Zaria special. This awkward pairing with Ruca is already taking away some of her mystique as a powerhouse destroyer.

Result

Dame def. Ruca by pinfall.

Grade

C-

Notable Moments

• Ruca told Zaria that she needed to go fight on her own, leaving her in the back of this match. Zaria came out late to cheer on Ruca.
  
• Shawn Spears watched this from the stage, pleased with the result.
• Ava asked Lexis King to give back the Heritage Cup as it could not be won by disqualification. She announced Charlie Dempsey vs. King next week sudden death for the Heritage Cup. William Regal promised to stay out of it.
  
• Roxanne Perez won NXT Female Superstar of the Year. The Prodigy warned Giulia about what was coming for her at New Year's Evil.
  

Hank Walker, Tank Ledger and Andre Chase vs. Wes Lee, Tyson Dupont and Tyriek Igwe

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger convinced a downtrodden Andre Chase to team with them. While he started to find his fire, Chase walked out as he realize Chase U was still gone, leaving Hank to take a stunner from Igwe for the loss.

This is an interesting alliance that should finally get Dupont and Igwe moving in NXT. Lee needed some help after taking some tough losses as well.

Hank and Tank remain a strong tag team that could afford to take this loss. They will rebound and have a high likelihood of capturing tag team gold in 2025.

Chase's involvement made perfect sense, even if NXT has not followed up well on Chase U's end since his last appearance.

It is about time fans hear from not just Chase but Duke Hudson, Thea Hail and Riley Osborne again.

Result

Igwe, Dupont and Lee def. Hank, Tank and Chase by pinfall.

Grade

C+

Notable Moments

• Lee stopped Shawn Spears from trying to get in the ear of Dupont and Igwe after Hank and Tank confronted their former friends about last week.
• Chase worked the whole match in a dress shirt.
• Lee convinced Dupont and Igwe to attack their opponents from behind during their entrance.
• Kale Dixon asked Chase about the next semester. The Professor said the U was dead.
  

Eddy Thorpe Stands Tall Before New Year's Evil

Oba Femi interrupted the NXT Male Superstar of the Year presentation, saying that it did not matter who won the award.

Trick Williams arrived to call out Femi's bad behavior after losing the North American Championship to Tony D'Angelo.

Eddy Thorpe laid out both men from behind, breaking the Male Superstar of the Year award on The Ruler and standing tall with the NXT Championship.

This was a fine closer to sell that anything could happen next week in the triple threat match for the NXT Championship, though it added little more to the hype for the match.

The NXT Championship match for New Year's Evil has gotten all the air time in December, which is a shame as the NXT Women's Championship match, Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia, could have used more spotlight.

Still, the hype is strong for New Year's Evil, presenting as stacked a card as NXT can deliver without needing main roster support.

Grade

B-

Notable Moments

• Femi threw out a Captain Phillips line: "I'm the captain now."
• It was never announced on air who won NXT Male Superstar of the Year. It was later clarified on X that The Ruler did in fact win the award.

• Ashante Thee Adonis told Nikkita Lyons he would spend New Year's alone if he could not find Karmen Petrovic.
• Backstage, Tony D'Angelo and The Family told Shawn Spears to back off Izzi Dame.

Overall Show

NXT is waiting for New Year's Evil to get back into rhythm, and that was obvious in the last two shows of the year for the silver-and-black brand.

The December 31 episode featured only a few matches and none that will be long remembered.

Outside of "All Ego" Ethan Page's continued heel destruction and the growing Women's North American Championship scene highlighted in the opener, this was a missable episode.

The NXT Year End Awards were an after thought including a messy scene that left no definitive answer for Male Superstar of the Year on air.

There is enough talent in NXT that the brand could have done much more, but New Year's Evil should more than draw fans back into the product in 2025.

Overall Grade: D