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WrestleMania 36 shook up NXT to its core as we saw the winners of the Survivor Series matches pick up losses during The Showcase of Immortals.
Shayna Baszler, who recently moved from NXT to RAW, was unable to defeat Becky Lynch for the RAW Women’s Championship. Similarly, Angel Garza and Austin Theory, who were making waves on NXT were put into a match against the RAW Tag Team Champions but failed to win the titles.
Most interestingly, NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley lost her title to The Queen of WWE, Charlotte Flair. After some disappointing results for the brand at The Show of Shows, NXT returned to pick the first contender to Flair’s new prize.
Apart from that, NXT looked to one-up the cinematic Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker, and the Firefly Fun House Match between Bray Wyatt and John Cena, with its own One Final Beat match between arch-rivals Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.
In this article, we will look at the 5 things NXT got right after their performance at WrestleMania 36.
#5 Indus Sher’s debut
A couple of weeks ago, Matt Riddle scored a victory over Roderick Strong as we witnessed a good fight between the two men.
After the battle was over, two huge men attacked Riddle before Malcolm Bives walked out to introduce the world to NXT’s newest tag team.
This week on NXT, the new tag team named Indus Sher made their in-ring debut against Ever-Rise. Rinku and Saurav were dominant right from the start and manhandled their opponents in a way no one would have expected them to.
Even though the beating got a bit too slow and dragged on longer than it should have, the duo hit an elevated diving elbow drop to seal their first victory on the Black & Gold brand.
NXT creatives need to book the initial matches for the Indus Sher a bit better and make them faster and more exciting, something like they did for the Authors of Pain and War Raiders (The Viking Raiders).
While Ever-Rise’s main purpose is being an enhancement team with not much to do, the Indus Sher’s victory over the duo helps them show that they mean business on NXT.
#4 Finn Balor’s message
The rivalry between NXT UK Champion WALTER and Finn Balor was reaching its boiling point when the global pandemic hit the world of wrestling hard.
Even though many storylines have been put on hold due to the situation all around the world, this is one story that needs to continue on-screen even if the action takes place three months from now.
This week, the brand aired the fight between Finn Balor and Alexander Wolfe in NXT UK in which The Prince of NXT showed WALTER that he is a match for anyone in the business.
After the screening, The Prince returned to our screens with a brand new pre-recorded promo in which he tore down WALTER and Imperium and promised to take what belongs to him instead of The Ring General.
This was a much-needed promo that came at the right time as we are seeing NXT UK Superstars losing out on their titles because of the travel restrictions in place. Jordan Devlin lost his NXT Cruiserweight Championship, while Pete Dunne could possibly be the next man on the list.
With that in mind, the solid promo helps keep the hopes and intensity in NXT UK alive, and fans are reminded that the story between Balor and WALTER is far from over.
Will WALTER and Imperium give their answer to Balor next week?
#3 Io Shirai's victory
This was the match most of us had been looking for all week, especially after Charlotte Flair won the NXT Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Six of the finest women of NXT, namely Tegan Nox, Dakota Kai, Mia Yim, Io Shirai, Candice LeRae, and Chelsea Green, battled each other in a ladder match to determine the No. 1 contender to Flair’s new title.
Dakota Kai had the backing of her bodyguard Raquel Gonzalez who helped keep the heel in the match even though Tegan Nox tried her best to take the heel out.
Green injured her ankle and Robert Stone tried to help her up the ladder, leading to both getting thrown off it.
After the battle reached its boiling point, it was up to Shirai and LeRae to battle at the top of the ladder to take home the briefcase. The Genius of The Sky managed to push LeRae off the ladder and pulled down the briefcase for another huge victory in NXT.
The prospect of watching Flair vs Shirai for the NXT Women’s Champion in NXT is something that will blow the roof off the Performance Center.
This was bigger than the Money in the Bank Ladder Match for the women of NXT, and Shirai is someone who should become the next NXT Women’s Champion. Will she be able to cut short The Queen’s reign early on?
#2 The final victory
The match that was too big for the WrestleMania that took place over two nights was set to headline Wednesday’s show. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa battled in an empty arena with to settle it all.
Triple H reminded the two Superstars that this was the final match before leaving them to do whatever they wanted to. They went after each other from the opening bell and used weapons to show that this wasn’t just any other ordinary rivalry. They took the fight onto the production truck outside and everywhere else which made things even more interesting.
Ciampa ripped up the ring mat and even hit the referee unintentionally which left the two men without anyone to interfere, thereby giving them a free hand to wreak mayhem.
After an interruption and an attack on Ciampa (more on that later), The Rebel Heart delivered a Pedigree to The Blackheart and pinned him for the three-count.
Even though many fans will argue that this wasn’t the best match between the two men, nor was it the most brutal one keeping in mind the stipulations, it was still a great match that followed the storyline perfectly.
Gargano getting help to pick up the win keeps matters hot even though Triple H has mentioned repeatedly that this was their final fight. The heel turn from the interrupter opens up even more possibilities for the Black & Gold brand, and it will be interesting to see where all three Superstars head now.
#1 The change of heart
Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano left no stone unturned as they tried to make their final match in NXT unforgettable. Even with all the camera cuts and confusing angles, the two men tried to make the story work as far as possible and leave a mark on the viewers.
However, it was the betrayal that mattered the most in this match and led it to its conclusion.
Candice LeRae arrived after the referee was knocked down after the knee from Ciampa and checked on her husband. She then delivered a low blow to him, giving Ciampa an unfair advantage over The Rebel Heart.
After Ciampa looked to take advantage, LeRae attacked him with a low blow from the back to prove that she was still loyal to her husband after all they’d been through. Her actions allowed Gargano to pick up the victory and reveal that it was all pre-planned as he was wearing a cup and the low blow did not affect him.
The heel turn from LeRae came just minutes after her great performance during the women’s ladder match. This leaves many questions unanswered but opens up a world of possibilities for the women’s division of the brand.
