WWE NXT Results: Highlights, Analysis, and Grades for February 8

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:34 p.m. ET

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Reviewing Wednesday night’s episode of WWE NXT, which returned to Full Sail University.

On Wednesday night, WWE NXT returned to Full Sail University for the first time in two weeks. It came after a one-week stay at the Freeman Coliseum for NXT TakeOver: San Antonio (the show took place before the event). That show didn’t push much toward the ongoing storylines in NXT, so it was a bit of a throwaway.

One week later, things have kicked off for TakeOver: Orlando, which takes place in less than two months already. The build for the show didn’t get thrown in the fan’s faces on Wednesday, but we saw the beginning of what’s potentially going to come at the Amway Center.

An interesting development would occur with the NXT Tag Team Division. The Revival had called out whoever won the NXT Tag Team Championship at TakeOver: San Antonio to a title match, so they looked to follow up on this. What would they say to the Authors of Pain? Did they lay out a challenge for the championship to be on the line?

Bobby Roode would make his first appearance since defeating Shinsuke Nakamura for the NXT Championship. He had plenty to say, but would Nakamura be able to show up after suffering a knee injury?

This would be a SAnitY-centric show with Eric Young, Killian Dain, Alexander Wolfe, and Nikki Cross playing significant roles. Would they all wrestle? How did they fare?

All this and more can be seen in our review of Wednesday night’s episode of WWE NXT.

WWE.com

Nigel McGuinness Introduced

At the commentary table, Nigel McGuinness officially took over the spot of Corey Graves, who is exclusive to the main roster now. It’s going to be a transition after the top-notch work of Graves for the past few years, but McGuinness is about as quality of a replacement as they can get in WWE NXT. Let’s just see how he connects with Tom Phillips and Percy Watson.

Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain vs. Bollywood Boyz

Result: Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain defeated the Bollywood Boyz via pinfall.

Remember when the Bollywood Boys were the first Superstars to ever appear on 205 Live in November? Well, they got sent down immediately afterward and hadn’t been seen until now. They needed “seasoning”, according to PW Insider (h/t WrestleZone).

This match would be all about Killian Dain, who stayed in the match for its entirety. Wolfe never tagged in and didn’t need to, because the Bollywood Boyz couldn’t muster any offense. They were in there to pretty much make Dain look like the imposing force he’s meant to be, and it worked.

As for the finisher, the electric chair-Michinoku Driver doesn’t come off as something overpowering for someone who’s supposed to be a monster. It’s developmental, after all, so maybe there’s a new move being created for Dain. If not, this isn’t a terrible finishing tactic

After the match, Nikki Cross screamed for Asuka. Eric Young then grabbed the microphone and called out Tye Dillinger for being “humbled” at TakeOver: San Antonio. He said Dillinger “belonged” with them.

WWE.com

Liv Morgan vs. Billie Kay

Result: Liv Morgan defeated Billie Kay via pinfall.

Rating: 1.75 out of 5 stars

This match saw McGuinness begin to establish himself as a heel commentator, saying how Billie Kay and Peyton Royce are “paying it forward” by bullying others after being bullied in school. He stayed in support of Kay here as well, giving an indication of what to expect going forward.

Not the most thrilling of matches here, as it looked sloppy at times. Kay and Morgan didn’t connect much here in their five-minute bout, leading to a somewhat dysfunctional ending with the attempted bridge pin by Liv.

Tye Dillinger Interview

Dillinger says he didn’t get humbled by SAnitY and won’t be joining them. SAnitY then attacks him from behind and spills into the arena. Roderick Strong and No Way Jose then made the save for Dillinger to knock the stable out of the ring.

Can you smell what this potential six-man tag team match is cookin’? It’s a good way of placing Strong with a few meaningful faces in hope of establishing his connection with the NXT Universe.

WWE.com

UK Title Announcement

NXT GM William Regal announces that the WWE UK Championship will be defended next Wednesday, It will be between Tyler Bate and Trent Seven.

Peyton Royce and Billie Kay then storm into the office to demand a match with Liv Morgan. He agrees, but makes it a tag bout, and Morgan can choose anyone she wants to team with her. Ember Moon, anyone?

Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight vs. The Revival

Result: The Revival defeated Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight via pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

The Revival is back, folks, and it’s great to see. They had been somewhat absent for the past month with DIY and the Authors of Pain in the tag title picture, which seemed like main roster booking. WWE NXT had shown a past ability to keep multiple teams relevant, but it went away for a while. Good thing to see it’s coming back now.

This wasn’t just a showcase match for Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder, as Dozovic and Knight had the opportunity to show off. They received a full entrance too, which is a small and subtle way of saying, “We’re about to make this team relevant” in NXT.

After the match, Wilder spoke about the Revival winning 2016 NXT Tag Team of the Year. Dawson says DIY shouldn’t be tag champions and talk about them losing at TakeOver: San Antonio. Dawson and Wilder talk about being the best tag team and “introduce” themselves to the Authors of Pain. Dawson then makes a challenge for TakeOver: Orlando.

AoP then came out and chase the Revival away, only to leave without saying anything. Then Dawson and Wilder returned to attack, fleeing shortly after.

It sounds like we could get a triple threat match at TakeOver: Orlando for the tag titles with DIY involved. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa shouldn’t be leaving the championship picture anytime soon and certainly not within the next two months, so expect them to work their way in.

There were also some subtle hints of a Revival face turn here. The challenge to the Authors seemed like a tease, but then they escaped the ring and did a sneak attack. So maybe this isn’t going to lead to anything. It probably shouldn’t with Dawson and Wilder not being in need of a turn.

WWE.com

Tyler Bate Vignette

We get a vignette on Bate just one week before he makes his Full Sail University debut. He’ll face Trent Seven for the WWE UK Championship.

A Glorious Celebration

Bobby Roode walks into Full Sail for a glorious entrance and says, “I told you so”, referring to his new NXT Championship. He starts mocking Shinsuke Nakamura for beating everyone except for him. Roode says Nakamura couldn’t get the job done, even after promising to “kick his head off”.

Roode says he’s the champion and how he’ll be the focus of WWE NXT shows and events going forward. He calls it “glorious”.

A fluff promo here from Roode, as he spoke for about five minutes how he won and that his title reign will be “glorious”. He called out Nakamura too, who will be back to challenge him soon. This could be an early candidate to main event TakeOver: Orlando, unless there’s a more creative plan in mind. It should be noted that prior to Roode vs. Nakamura, the past five TakeOver shows had just two different pairings in the main event — Finn Balor vs. Samoa Joe and Joe vs. Nakamura.

WWE.com

Trent Seven Vignette

We get a vignette for Trent Seven. He’ll be facing Tyler Bate in next Wednesday’s WWE UK title bout in his NXT debut.

Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, and Roderick Strong vs. SAnitY

Result: SAnitY defeated Tye Dillinger, No Way Jose, and Roderick Strong via pinfall.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

A mostly one-sided domination by SAnity, he beat down Tye Dillinger for the majority of this match. No Way Jose had a few moments to shine, but couldn’t capitalize either.

The climax of the match came when Roderick Strong entered on a hot tag. He built some momentum, but it came to a screeching halt once the numbers game came into play. Nikki Cross took out Dillinger, so it freed up a three-on-two attack on the former Mr. ROH from Killian Dain. This left the pinfall wide open for Eric Young.

This match concluded the Night of SAnity, as they opened and closed the show by looking dominant. There’s still something missing with the group, as they have yet to fully click as the force to be reckoned with. However, that could come in time as they rise up the ladder in WWE NXT.

Regarding Dillinger, Jose, and Strong, this doesn’t do anything to help or hurt them. Keep an eye on what they do in the next few weeks, though. Most curious to see what Strong does out of the three, as his direction after the Andrade Almas win is still unknown.

Not a bad episode of WWE NXT, but not a great one. What did you think of it?

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