6 Ups & 1 Downs From Last Night's WWE NXT (Jan 17)

Downs...

1. Growing Pains

Lacey Evans
WWE.com

This week brought a couple of significant developments in the women's division. We'll get to the title program in a bit, but for now, let's shine a light on Lacey Evans.

A non-factor in the Mae Young Classic, she was reintroduced as a heel last night, and grappled her way past Aliyah in our second bout. The match wasn't terrible, but it didn't quite hit the mark. For all her promise, Evans was visibly uncomfortable during her control segments, and while she worked with greater intensity than usual, it's clear that she still needs considerable seasoning.

Aliyah, meanwhile, is a capable enhancement wrestler, but hasn't shown much progression since debuting in 2015. Maybe she has grown, and the company just haven't given her an opportunity to show it, but it feels like she should be further along her development curve.

It's hard to be too critical on Evans and Aliyah - they're in NXT to learn, after all - but their brief singles bout fell flat. Lacey's post-match promo was misplaced, too: this was literally her first NXT victory, but she's already calling out Ember Moon and Shayna Baszler. What part of that makes sense?

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.