WWE set up a variety of things that will play out on next week’s episode of NXT, though only two matches have been officially confirmed for the January 21st edition next Tuesday night.
Oba Femi will be defending the NXT World Championship against Eddy Thorpe, and Ridge Holland will get an opportunity at the NXT North American Championship.
In the opening segment of this week’s episode, Oba Femi’s promo was interrupted by Tony D’Angelo, who has his eyes set on eventually dethroning Femi as he’s beaten him twice before. Ridge Holland would then interrupt as well, leading to a brawl with D’Angelo that continued until even later on in the night.
"I am the one man to defeat you."@TonyDangeloWWE had to remind @Obaofwwe of their past with one another…#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/deiEpKiTUd
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
😱 😱 😱
While all eyes were on @RidgeWWE and @TonyDangeloWWE, @EddyThorpe_WWE just dropped @Obaofwwe! #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/hlc40tz9nR
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
Meanwhile, as that was going on, Femi was attacked from behind by Eddy Thorpe, who used a leather strap and the element of surprise to get the advantage over the new ruler of NXT.
As a result of this, along with a backstage segment where Oba Femi stormed into Ava’s office to demand that he gets a match with Thorpe (despite how Mr. Stone tried to tell Femi that he’s being manipulated into doing so, Femi doesn’t care), Ava granted Femi the match, much to Thorpe’s pleasure, as he indicated in an Instagram video that aired during the show.
"I am the NXT Champion! If I want Eddy, I get Eddy!"@Obaofwwe is on a mission to end @EddyThorpe_WWE for GOOD! 😳 #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/v0Wtl3uDeP
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
.@EddyThorpe_WWE is an absolute menace 😡#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/yo3ZHxRSRC
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
Strangely, this is not a strap match for the NXT Championship, despite the specific use of that leather strap.
Also strange is that nothing was confirmed about Charlie Dempsey facing Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup, despite how Ava was agreeing to Wren Sinclair’s request for a rematch between the two.
Does Charlie Dempsey deserve a rematch? 🏆@WrenSinclairWWE certainly thinks so…#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/mEctNbUngX
— WWE (@WWE) January 15, 2025
Josh Briggs and Yoshiki Inamura had also approached Nathan Frazer and Axiom backstage, putting out the challenge that they should be the next in line for a tag title shot, and got into a brawl with OTM. It’s likely we’ll see Bronco Nima and Lucien Price against Briggs and Inamura, but that wasn’t confirmed, either.
Yet another plot point set up but not announced for next week was how Shotzi defeated Stephanie Vaquer to become the No. 1 contender for the NXT Women’s North American Championship via unknowingly taking advantage of Vaquer being hit in the back by Fallon Henley. Vaquer was on a mission after the loss to go after Fatal Influence, and Shotzi was upset over her win being tainted, so there may be a rematch or something else that puts these women back in the line of fire with each other.
Suffice it to say, between these stories and more, there is far more we’re going to see on next week’s episode of NXT, but for now, the lineup consists of the following card:
- NXT Championship Match: Oba Femi (c) vs. Eddy Thorpe
- NXT North American Championship Match: Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Ridge Holland
What else do you think will be added to the show for next week? Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
