[5.0] "This was all about the story of Thea fighting injured and from beneath. It was a good story, some good near falls from Thea with pinning combinations and a solid finish from the top. Okay sprint, 'interesting' booking with the old 'lose early in the night then win a title' routine that WWE have always loved."
[5.0] "This was a big question mark for me because I didn't really know how to feel about this, first of all the start of the match was very bizarre, had an open challenge just for Izzi to step in and then win was a choice, that's for sure."
[3.0] "The biggest casualty of the bad creative of the night. Blake jobbing in the rematch wouldn't have buried her, because everyone expects the job before the call-up. But having Izzi win after losing to Tatum earlier in the night ultimately buries her, Thea, and Blake in one fell swoop. I get it, you don't want to reward Thea too much for going into business for herself, but there are better ways to make this make sense from a narrative perspective without this weird curtain-shaking stuff that WWE seems insistent on doing as of recently (see also: Unreal)"
[3.0] "I was honestly quite bored during this match. It went on for way longer than it needed to, but the finish is something I'm perfectly fine with."
[2.0] "I saw a post, not here, that said Shawn Michaels is a better booker than Triple H during the black and golden era of NXT. To that I say HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA...Having someone barely over who lost earlier in the show beat someone else who isn't really over for a title that's meaningless isn't indicative of genius booking."
[5.0] "The match itself wasn't bad -- both Izzi Dame and Thea Hail delivered a solid, technically sound performance with clean sequences and some nice moments of offense. However, the context completely undermines it. Izzi loses at the very start of the show, yet somehow earns a title opportunity and wins the championship shortly after. From a storytelling perspective, it makes no sense and breaks the credibility of the match's outcome. The in-ring work was fine, but the booking choice leaves a sour taste, as the storyline logic fails to support the wrestlers' efforts. It's a shame, because with proper buildup, this could have been a much stronger and more impactful contest."
[5.0] "The match is bad but Izzi wrestled a match just before this so I can't really be harsh on this. I don't get Why Thea didn't just face Blake later in the night if she was fine to compete. Quite confusing is what all of this seemed like to me honestly."
[4.0] "Very interesting challenge and result after the earlier match for Dame, but not one that deserves outrage; it's unrealistic to expect storytelling to always flow smoothly and jump cleanly from plotline to plotline. Instead, we have a new, surprising, and compelling story. The match itself wasn't on par with the action so far, but it was inoffensive. What happens from here is for us to judge as it comes, but for the time being I'm nothing but interested to see what comes of this."
[4.0] "They do know they could have had this happen on the next NXT show instead of forcing this to happen all in one night? The wrestling was basic and it seemed more concerned with the outside of the ring antics. Not a fan even if some involved are charismatic. I guess Hail is 22 so this won't hurt her but damn this did not make her look good in the slightest"
[4.0] "What the hell it was? Blake Monroe attacked Thea Hail and got banned because of it - I can understand it. But we got an open challenge and Izzi Dame, that a few minures ago lost to Tatum, and just dominate in whole match. That was a bad twist, but I hope we got something better for the next months."
[5.0] "I will give Izzi credit, wrestling back to back matches aint easy and she was doing good moves during both. This kinda buries Thea hail though in my eyes. Never cared about her with the title and I don't want to see it back on her because it didnt really seem like she desreved it in the first place. Her character is so cringe"
[2.0] "This was an angle-heavy title change that never comes close to justifying itself, either dramatically or structurally. What should have been an emotionally charged follow-up to the Monroe attack instead feels like a rushed course correction that actively undermines everyone involved. The opening promo from Hail at least sets the right emotional tone. She's hurt, frustrated, and trying to do right by the fans by honouring the promised title match. An open challenge scramble is a perfectly fine hook on paper, especially with the visual chaos of multiple contenders flooding the aisle. Unfortunately, the moment Izzi Dame blindsides Hail, the segment immediately shifts from opportunistic to nonsensical. Dame's offense is dominant to the point of absurdity. This isn't a competitive struggle between a wounded champion and a fresh challenger; it's a near-total squash disguised as a match. Hail gets brief flickers of offense, but they're instantly cut off, rarely sold, and never allowed to build any real momentum. That's especially frustrating given that Hail is supposed to be the sympathetic centrepiece of the story. Instead of fighting valiantly through pain, she's rendered ineffective almost immediately. The biggest issue is credibility. Dame having just wrestled a lengthy match earlier and showing zero fatigue, damage, or even mild wear completely breaks the internal logic of the show. If this was meant to establish Dame as a monster, it does so at the expense of believability rather than through earned dominance. Worse, it actively devalues the title reign you just created. Hail didn't lose because she was outmatched in a dramatic struggle; she lost because the booking demanded a fast reset. From a broader booking perspective, this is baffling. If the goal was to transition the title away from Hail quickly due to the Monroe situation, there were cleaner and more constructive ways to do it--ways that might have elevated a challenger, protected the champion, or at least told a coherent story. Instead, this feels like a bait-and-switch that leaves Hail worse off than when she started and Dame no more compelling than before. None of this is on Hail. She sold the beating, fought when given space, and did exactly what was asked of her. The failure here is entirely conceptual. The match doesn't advance a meaningful narrative, doesn't enhance the division, and doesn't respect the investment it just asked the audience to make. This wasn't bold or shocking booking. It was sloppy, deflating, and deeply unsatisfying. *"
[3.0] "In-ring performance, it was terrible, I'd give it a 1 or 2 out of 10, but Izzi's establishment as a respectable heel was quite good, since there are no heels on the NXT women's roster, and this might be the start for a good heel. Izzi has made great progress in the ring and deserves that title. What scares me is what they'll do with her with the title, but the fact that she won it is great."
[2.0] "What a mess. There was some really strange booking to get here. Thea Hail was originally supposed to defend her women's NA title against Blake Monroe, but Blake attacked her before their match and was ejected from the building. Thea wants a match anyway and issues an open challenge, which Izzi answers even though she lost a match earlier on the show. That's pretty dumb. The match itself was okay, nothing special. Izzi and Thea did mostly basic stuff, not bad but not good either. Then Izzi wins to become the new champion. If Thea is going to lose anyway, why not have Blake beat her when those two are feuding? Nonsense. 2/10"
[3.0] "I'm sorry, what? I need 250 words to get through this but don't know what to say. This was a nothing match that entirely undercut the previous match between Izzi and Tatum, and it's inexplicable how this panned out. Thea botching a win royally fucked the division."
[3.0] "Nothingburger of a match with a bad finish. Also, booking-wise, why not give Thea a proper shot? You had the opportunity to have a really good babyface title defence as Thea battles back from being beaten down by Blake earlier in the show, but whatever I guess."
[4.0] "While not absolutely terrible, this match is clearly the worst of the show. So if I understand correctly: Blake Monroe gets kicked out of the arena, Thea Hail issues an open challenge while she's not in top form, and she loses? So Monroe will never get another shot at the title she lost because of a botch? Okay. [**]"
[1.0] "This made no sense, so Blake Monroe attacked Thea Hail and got kicked out of the arena. Thea Hail isn't 100% but wants to defend the title, and it'll be an Open Challenge. Izzi Dame, who lost earlier in the night, comes out and challenges Thea Hail, then wins the title. HBK lost me on this whole sequence because this made zero sense. I guess Tatum Paxley is going to win the title off of her, but that just doesn't make sense... I don't get this. I thought the match sucked. It wasn't good. I guess Blake Monroe is on her way to the Main Roster because she is poking at Bayley on Twitter. I guess that's why she got written off the show. I don't know. This was all around awful."
[1.0] "So, let me get this straight, Izzi loses to Tatum earlier in the show, Thea decides to do an open challenge, and Izzi steals a shot at the title and wins the title? Yeah that's bullshit. The match wasn't even good and the only thing memorable was the finisher from the top rope. Izzi isn't even that good in the ring and Thea deserved better than this. If this means Izzi and Tatum feud over the NA title, fine"
[5.0] "The worst match of the show for sure. Can understand why they went with that ending as a way to get the title off Thea Hail considering how she won the title."
[5.0] "This was terrible. Such a bland and lifeless match, you couldn't really feel nothing, neither fear for Thea or Izzi dominance. They didn't tell a good story in the ring, despite the potential"
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