NXT Vengeance Day 2023 Preview and Predictions

NXT Vengeance Day takes place on Saturday, February 4th, from the Spectrum in Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the first NXT premium live event to be held outside of Florida since 2020.

Six matches round out the card, which is one match more than a typical NXT special event. Each of these matches has been built nicely from a storyline standpoint. It is clear that the brand will start building towards its WrestleMania weekend event, and Vengeance Day should give us some good insight into the direction the company may take.

As usual, the following article previews and offers predictions for each match.

1. Steel cage match for the NXT Championship

The NXT Championship will be defended inside of a steel cage

Historically, the steel cage match stipulation comes into play to keep both competitors in or reduce the potential for outside interference. In this case, the cage was put in place due to the controversial finish of Bron Breakker's and Grayson Waller's match at New Year's Evil when the top rope broke twice.

While there's no reason to believe that Waller has a chance of winning the championship here, it should be an entertaining match. Both talents are high on WWE's radar, and fans can expect one or both of them to be called up sometime within the year.

The main question coming out of this match will be who the creative team will have to step up to challenge the champion during WrestleMania weekend. Carmelo Hayes seems like a good bet, but there's always a chance the creative team will go in a different direction.

Prediction: Bron Breakker will retain the NXT Championship

2. Triple Threat Match for the NXT Women's Championship

The match was built very nicely, featuring arguably the top three women on the brand. As some fans may recall, Roxanne Perez started 2022 as the ROH Women's Champion before joining NXT, where she quickly emerged as a top star before winning the championship. Jacy Jayne and Gigi Dolin were sidekicks to Mandy Rose in Toxic Attraction but always stood out in their own right.

The intrigue of this match centers around Jayne and Dolin staying aligned to take out Perez. As fans have seen over the past several weeks, while they appear to be on a united front, there have been cracks in the armor as recently as last Tuesday's television episode. Expect these cracks to emerge again, which will lead to Perez retaining her title.

Prediction: Roxanne Perez will retain the NXT Women's Championship

3. Two-out-of-three falls match

Will Apollo Crews be a stepping stone on Hayes' rise to the top?

Since losing the North American Championship in September 2022, the creative team has slowly been building Carmelo Hayes back up, seemingly making a run at Bron Breakker's championship. Fans are assuming that Hayes is going for the title and will headline the brand's event during WrestleMania weekend.

Apollo Crews is the right opponent to put Hayes over at this point. He had a moderately successful run on the main roster, holding the WWE Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown and recently challenging Breakker for the NXT title.

The two-out-of-three fall stipulation allows Hayes to look strong while not completely burying Crews, as he will likely win one of the early falls. This is a smart move, as he can be leveraged in the future to work against the talent the brand is looking to elevate.

Prediction: Carmelo Hayes will defeat Apollo Crews

4. NXT Women's Tag Team Championship Match

Can the makeshift team of Henley and James unseat the champions?

Katana Chance and Kayden Carter are the longest reigning Women's Tag Team Champions, holding the titles for over 186 days. At Vengeance Day, they will defend against the "odd couple" tag team of Fallon Henley and Kiana James.

The story here is that James recently tried to con Henley out of her family's bar while flirting and starting a relationship with Henley's friend and colleague, Brooks Jensen. While suspecting James of being less than honest, Henley has agreed to form an alliance with her for the sake of her friendship with Jensen.

Expect a miscommunication between the two "frenemies" to cause them to be on the losing end of the match. For the champions, it will be interesting to see what's next, as there aren't any regular tag teams on the brand for them to defend against. It looks like a new team is being formed with Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn, so this is likely where they will be headed next.

Prediction: Kayden Carter and Katana Chance will retain the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship

5. Fatal Four Way

New Day has been splitting their time between SmackDown and serving as the reigning NXT Tag Team Champions. At Vengeance Day, they will defend their titles in a "Fatal Four Way" match against former champions Pretty Deadly, Chase University, and Gallus.

Pretty Deadly is the most talented team on the brand, holding the Tag Team titles on two occasions. Fans can expect a call-up to the main roster next year. New Day has had a good presence on the brand to elevate the tag team division, but their stay is likely temporary. Chase University is a fun act, but it is really in the match to likely take the pin and continue the storyline tension between Andre Chase and Duke Hudson.

Gallus, on the other hand, is a fresh act on the U.S. brand, and with a dominant run in NXT UK, expect them to win the titles here to officially begin their U.S. journey.

Prediction: Gallus will win the NXT Tag Team Championship

6. North American Championship match

Will Dijak walk out of Vengeance Day with the NXT North American Championship?

Since joining the brand, Dijak has shredded his past persona of "T-Bar" in the RETRIBUTION faction and returned to what made him an attractive prospect, to begin with.

While the "enforcer" character still needs some work, expect him to defeat Wes Lee for the title. Lee is a fine champion and can continue to compete in the division, but with no credible heels built to face him, expect the company to go in a different direction. Fans should not be surprised if Tony D'Angelo and "Stacks" play a role in the finish.

Prediction: Dijak will win the North American Championship