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NXT Takeover XXV only took place a few weeks ago but the build-up to Takeover: Toronto on the eve of SummerSlam has already begun. The NXT Universe has new Tag Team Champions and a new NXT Champion to contend with now as all the storylines begin to build towards Toronto.
Last night's tapings took place live from Full Sail University which has been the home for NXT over the past few years. These storylines are expected to air on the WWE Network on Wednesday night from June 19th until July 10th.
The entire card is yet to be announced for Toronto but luckily there is still another full batch of tapings to come next month that will lead all the way up to NXT's biggest pay-per-view event of the summer.
#4. Breakout Tournament
Triple H is obviously doing some fantastic things down in NXT and as part of last night's NXT tapings, it was announced by General Manager William Regal that there would be a break out NXT title tournament that would allow the crowd to get to know the latest batch of NXT talent.
The winner of this tournament will be given a title shot for any of the Championships in NXT and the matches themselves got underway as part of last night's tapings.
The tournament kicks off on June 26th and will see Angel Garza vs Joaquin Wilde, before Cameron Grimes vs Isaiah Scott on July 3rd, closely followed by Bronson Reed vs Dexter Lumis and Jordan “ACH” Myles vs Boa which are the final tournament match ups at these tapings on July 10th.
It'll be interesting to see if the winner of the breakout tournament is given a Championship match of their choosing in Toronto in August.
#3. Huge debut
After weeks of watching teasers ahead of the debut of Punishment Martinez in WWE, he finally debuted as part of last night's TV tapings under his new name, Damian Priest. Raul Mendoza was the unlucky star who was put in his way as he made his debut for NXT, and it's obvious that WWE are hoping that he will become a huge star on the developmental brand.
It's interesting to note that Priest wasn't one of the names that were part of the Breakout Tournament, which shows that WWE obviously already has some plans for the stand out independent star.
Priest defeated Mendoza in his first match on WWE TV which is scheduled to air on June 19th, Priest was then in action later in the tapings since he was able to defeat Blanco Loco as part of the tapings that will air on July 10th.
#2. The women make history
The Women's Revolution is in full swing on the main roster, even though this year has been much more toned down than the past few, but the women who are down in NXT have also made their own fair share of history. Once again the women of NXT were given the chance to make history as part of the most recent batch of tapings since Io Shirai got her hands on Shayna Baszler once again, but this time inside a steel cage.
This is the first ever Steel Cage Women's match in WWE history and the first women's match to be contested in a steel cage in WWE since Alexa Bliss vs Becky Lynch back in January 2017. It's a huge push for the Women's Division after they lost the likes of Nikki Cross and Lacey Evans to the main roster and the details from the match are on the following slide.
#1. Io Shirai heel turn
The Genius of the Sky worked hard to get another shot at Shayna Baszler and one of the reasons why a steel cage made sense was because Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir couldn't stay out of the NXT Women's Champion's business.
The steel cage match allowed Shirai and Baszler to make history, but when Baszler escaped the cage and retained her NXT Women's Championship, The Japanese star blamed her longtime friend Candice LeRae for the loss and began quite the beatdown.
It was a huge shock to the watching crowd but gained the desired reaction since Candice LeRae is someone who is popular with the WWE Universe so she's seen as the perfect person for anyone to turn heel on. This leaves the door open for a triple threat match for the NXT Women's Championship at Takeover: Toronto.
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