WINC Watchlist: Best Of WWE NXT Vengeance Day

Whenever there's a big show coming up, like WWE NXT Vengeance Day this weekend, it can be instructive (not to mention fun) to go back and watch some older, related matches in the lead-up to the event. There are as many different ways to watch wrestling as there are individual wrestling fans, but here at Wrestling Inc., we love to cut up and rearrange wrestling history in interesting and unique ways, selecting a variety of matches with some sort of through-line connecting them and placing them side-by-side. This time around, we're taking a look at some of the best Vengeance Day matches in the history of the PLE!

It's important to keep in mind that we are not looking at shows simply titled Vengeance — we are specifically restricting this Watchlist to the Vengeance Day brand. That gives it a distinctly modern purview, and indeed, most of the matches we're looking at here are from the past couple years. But that doesn't make them any less worth revisiting! Enjoy our list of the best Vengeance Day matches, and tell us yours in the comments!

WWE revived the "Vengeance" name for the first time since 2011 for the February 2021 edition of NXT TakeOver during its pandemic era. The show was held at the WWE Performance Center, which was referred to as the Capital Wrestling Center, though that was just an attempt at a snazzy name for "NXT's" Thunderdome-like setup with its screens showing fans watching from home.

The main event of the show featured NXT Champion Finn Balor defending the gold against former NXT UK Champion Pete Dunne. It was a notable match, as it was the first time Dunne and Balor had ever wrestled, and the post-match angle, where Adam Cole turned heel, was also memorable.

Balor told Dunne in the weeks ahead of their match he needed to get in line for a title shot. "The Bruiserweight" didn't take too kindly to that, however, and told the "Prince" he was done waiting around. Dunne said everyone in Europe wanted to follow in Balor's footsteps, but not him.

At Vengeance Day, the men battled in an over 25 minute technical war. Balor avoided Dunne's joint manipulation attempts early on, but couldn't counter them forever. Dunne kept up a mat grappling game throughout the beginnings of the match and kept Balor on the ground, targeting both his arms and shoulders. The challenger had Balor's number in the first half of the match.

Balor tried to rally with a stomp to Dunne's ankle, then targeted it with a STF. About halfway through the match, both men were more on their feet, trading hard strikes and chops. Dunne hit a big headbutt followed by a sit-down powerbomb to Balor and nearly had the match won. At another point, Dunne had Balor out cold in a submission, but the champion was able to get his foot on the bottom rope before seemingly passing out for a moment.

Dunne was able to snap Balor's fingers after getting out of an abdominal stretch and once again almost had the match won with a Bitter End. Balor was able to counter another power bomb and Bitter End and in the end, the champion hit a big dropkick to his challenger's face before going up top for the coupe de gras. Realizing that might not be enough to keep Dunne down, Balor hit the 1916 for the win.

After the match, the Undisputed Era ran off Dunne, Burch, and Lorcan, but Cole turned heel, super kicking both Balor and Kyle O'Reilly as a stunned Roderick Strong looked on. While the pandemic era of WWE isn't exactly looked back upon fondly, there are certainly a few gems from the time, and this main event from Vengeance Day is one of them.

Written by Daisy Ruth

2024's Vengeance Day saw the NXT Women's Championship contested between Lyra Valkyria and Roxanne Perez, with Perez having earned her opportunity at the title by co-winning a battle royal with three others, and then beating them in a four-way match.

The bout got off to a quick start, with Perez attempting a tope suicida only to get socked in the face with Valkyria's forearm. And from there it just continued to be a fast-paced and passionate battle for the title, a title that Perez had lost two years prior arguably through no fault of her own – passing out after a successful defense against Meiko Satomura, thus causing a title ladder match to be booked at Stand & Deliver initially without her, which she was then added to late and failed to win.

That bitterness drove the emotion behind the match, with Valkyria stood in the way from her getting back on top.

Perez even looked on her way to winning the title after hitting Pop Rox, only for Lola Vice to add to the excitement by cashing in her Breakout contract to make it a triple threat match. Vice looked to strangle the title away from Perez once more, locking in a triangle choke, only for Valkyria to make the save and keep her title reign intact.

Valkyria delivered Night Wing to Perez, followed up with a spinning backfist to Vice for another near-fall, and that was followed up with another Pop Rox to Valkyria once again for a near-fall.

A fourth, though not official, competitor made their presence known in the shape of Tatum Paxley. She ran down and attacked Perez, leaving the space open for Valkyria to deliver Night Wing and get the pin on Vice to retain.

It's easy to see why these three have gone on to be mainstay fixtures both on the main roster, in the cases of Perez and Valkyria, as well as "WWE NXT." This was an exhibition of what the developmental brand has been doing well consistently, bringing through top quality women's talent who really just seem to get wrestling and what it's meant to be. There was excitement, emotion, and no one came off as better or worse simply because every inch was so hard-earned. And it stands out as one of the best matches to have been staged in the "NXT" iteration of Vengeance Day.

Written by Max Everett

Vengeance Day 2024 was a big one for Trick Williams, as he not only competed alongside his then-best friend Carmelo Hayes in the finals of the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic final, the 2023 Men's Iron Survivor also got his NXT Championship match against "The Mad Dragon" Ilja Dragunov. The dramatic breakup of Trick Melo Gang had been brewing for weeks and was imminent going in to the premium live event, with Hayes not liking the fact that his number one rival in "NXT," Dragunov, was respectful of Williams going in to their match.

Dragunov would warn his opponent about his best friend, but Williams didn't listen. At one point, Hayes even attacked his tag partner backstage, and blamed it on Dragunov, something fans wouldn't know until the weeks following the breakup. Williams didn't have the best start to the night, as he and Hayes lost to Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin in the Dusty Cup final, but he looked more than ready to face off against Dragunov in the main event, not knowing what was to come after.

Williams came out of the gate hot against Dragunov, but he couldn't keep the "Mad Dragon" down for long. The champion was busted open early, bleeding from his nose, which seemed to only make him more dangerous, and Williams was bleeding from his mouth, as well, as he tried to compete with the physicality of Dragunov's brutal in-ring style.

Dragunov didn't forget about Hayes at ringside throughout the bout, at one point, dragging Williams to the outside to hit a German suplex, followed by a Death Valley Driver on the apron, all while staring down Hayes. The champion and challenger continued to go to war back in the ring, and Williams impressively hung right in there with the "Mad Dragon."

Williams dodged the H-bomb and hit the First 48, but couldn't capitalize fast enough to get the cover, and the match broke down into a slug fest. Williams somehow survived two H-Bombs, including one from the second rope, and dodged a Torpedo Moscow for an extremely near fall that had the arena on its feet. Hayes inevitably got involved and there was a referee bump, so when Williams had Dragunov pinned, there was no official there to make the count. In the end, it was a Torpedo Moscow that had Williams down for the count after an incredibly impressive showing.

Despite Hayes turning on him at the end, this match was an incredibly impressive showing for Williams. If an "NXT" fan hadn't started to believe in him after his Iron Survivor win, the way he hung right in there with Dragunov's extremely hard-hitting style would have made anyone a believer.

Written by Daisy Ruth

Everyone, and I mean everyone, knew that Stephanie Vaquer would emerge victorious at "WWE NXT" Vengeance Day 2025. Still, the drama and the aggression made this NXT Women's North American Match a must-see.

Vaquer and Henley appeared evenly-matched at first, with a series of mat wrestling and lock-ups filling the early moments. Of course, Henley's Fatal Influence stablemates Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx eventually got in on the action too as they attempted to take Vaquer off her game and give Henley the upper hand. This initially proved successful as Henley dominated Vaquer for minutes before yanking "La Primera" to the mat by her hair.

It was that moment that seemingly flipped a switch for Vaquer as she rose to her feet with an added layer of intensity, beginning with a big kick to Henley's jaw and a 619. Much to the delight of the crowd (and Booker T), she then followed with the Devil's Kiss.

For those less familiar with Vaquer, this match serves as a prime opportunity to see Vaquer's wide-range skillset — 619, Devil's Kiss, meteora, Eat Defeat, dragon screw, SVB, and Spiral Tap — and in-ring resiliency. Moreover, it sets the stage for the double title match against NXT Women's Champion Giulia that Vaquer succeeded in weeks later.

In the end of this bout, Vaquer's resiliency was on full-display as she obliterated all three members of Fatal Influence at ringside before returning to the ring to finish business with Henley. A classic case of an underdog defying the odds, but in this case, the outside interference didn't take away from the solid performance between the legal competitors.

Written by Ella Jay

Just last year, the NXT Women's Championship was on the line as Giulia defended it against former holder Roxanne Perez, "WWE NXT" veteran Bayley, and Perez's own tag team partner-rival-partner-then rival again in Cora Jade.

It all came about when Giulia defeated Perez to end her second run with the title at New Year's Evil. Perez appeared the following week addressing the fans as though she was departing the developmental brand for the main roster. Only for Bayley to emerge, attempt to give advice, getting it thrown back in her face, and the pair brawling to close the show.

Perez spiraled in the following weeks, losing a tag match against Bayley and Giulia as her partner, Jade, was pinned. She blamed Jade for the defeat, throwing her partner under the bus as she demanded her rematch for the title in lieu of Bayley. That prompted a triple threat to be announced, further confused when Jade pinned Bayley through Perez's interference, thus forcing Ava to make the match a four-way in its final iteration.

Said match was the main event of the show, carrying all the trademarks of a title four-way: near-falls, fluid action between each competitor, and plenty of finishers exchanged. Perez hit Pop Rox twice to Bayley, the first outside and then back in the ring for the second, only for Jade to roll her up for a near-fall. Jade then dropped Perez with a DDT only to get caught with a running knee strike from Giulia. And Giulia finished the match on top with a running knee strike, followed by a Northern Lights Bomb to Perez for the winning pinfall.

As if the action of the match wasn't enough, there was added excitement when Stephanie Vaquer emerged to confront Giulia, planting the seed for her to eventually take the title. And then just a little bit more as Jordynne Grace joined the confrontation to close the show.

All of these women are now on the main roster – except for Jade, she's in TNA as Elayna Black – and again the match is demonstrative as to why that is the case. Everyone had their own justification for winning the bout if that turned out to be the case, everyone played their part to perfection, and that's why it stands out as one of the best "NXT" Vengeance Day offerings so far.

Written by Max Everett