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WWE NXT has been delivering some fine episodes, and the brand has made a huge impression on the WWE Universe in the past few months. This week, the biggest match which took place was to determine the #1 Contender for Adam Cole’s NXT Championship.
Apart from that, the Cruiserweight Championship was on the line early in the night, and the WSuperstars involved gave us a match to remember.
The women of NXT also got their time to shine, as Mia Yim came out to avenge the attacks at the hands of Dakota Kai, while Bianca Belair walked out to make a huge statement against Kayden Carter. In this article, we'll look at the 4 things WWE NXT got right on this week’s episode.
#4 Continued Kushida and Cameron Grimes’ rivalry
Kushida is an entertaining character who has gotten the crowd behind him the few times he’s taken to the ring in NXT. Last week, he defeated Cameron Grimes who entered himself into a match with the Japanese Superstar after attacking Raul Mendoza.
This week, Grimes attacked Kushida earlier in the night to take out the frustration from last week’s loss against Japanese Superstar. Later on, he competed with Mendoza inside the ring. While there is no questioning Mendoza’s talent, it was interesting to watch him almost squash Grimes in the match after an early attack.
Grimes had been built as a threat for some time, and it’s unfair to see him take two clean losses in two weeks. However, the company used this match to further build on Kushida and Grimes' rivalry, which was the right thing to do.
Kushida distracted Grimes during the latter stages of the match, and this rivalry can help both Superstars grow with the NXT Universe.
#3 Built towards a stipulation match
Lately, NXT has lacked fights with stipulations attached. The last major stipulation match we saw was between Matt Riddle and Killian Dain, while the ladder matches before WarGames were a treat to watch.
Keeping that in mind, some of Johnny Gargano’s best matches have been under different stipulations, NXT needs to bring the stipulations back to regular televised shows. This week, Mia Yim took on Dakota Kai in a scheduled match. The Captain of Team Kick was able to pick up the victory after sending Yim into the exposed turnbuckle head-first.
However, Yim did not stay down for long and came back to attack Kai right after. The fight led the two women into the crowd where they beat each other down before The Head Baddie sent her rival through a table with Saito Suplex.
With that spot, it seems like the brand is building towards a long grudge rivalry between the two stars, which will lead to a Street Fight or Falls Count Anywhere match between the two down the line.
#2 Angel Garza’s double victory
Angel Garza has proven to be a good WWE Superstar in the ring, and much like his cousin Humberto Carrillo, he seems to be rising through the ranks quickly.
This week, Garza got another shot at the Cruiserweight Championship against Lio Rush. Garza did not let this opportunity slip by and used his heelish tactics and talent to go over Rush finally to become a champion for the first time in the company.
This was a good decision to keep the competition fresh in the Black & Gold brand and 205 Live. The Cruiserweight division has been overlooked at times, and the recent title changes have proven that the company is still taking an interest in the art of high-flying wrestling.
While the Cruiserweight Championship will only be around Garza’s waist temporarily, he followed up his victory by making a lifetime decision. After the match, he pulled his girlfriend from the crowd into the ring and proposed to her.
The entire segment made the victory feel much sweeter and made things more emotional and personal for the entire NXT Universe. And let's not forget, the match between Garza and Rush was absolute dynamite this week!
#1 Crowned Finn Balor the number 1 contender
Behold The Prince of Darkness! This week, we had a stellar triple-threat match between Tommaso Ciampa, Finn Balor, and Keith Lee which only marginally outclassed the opening Cruiserweight Championship match due to the Superstars involved.
Balor trumped both larger men by outlasting them and taking advantage of The Limitless One’s Spirit Bomb on Ciampa. The Prince dropped Lee right after with a Coup De Grace and bagged the victory.
While fans would argue that Ciampa was first in line for an NXT Championship shot, let’s not forget that not all is fair in the world of faces and heels.
Balor’s victory will now allow us to have one of the biggest NXT Championship matches in history next week, while Shayna Baszler defends her NXT Women’s Championship against Rhea Ripley.
Balor’s sudden return and rise in NXT has triggered several rivalries at the top of the card, which will give us some quality competition well into the first or even the second quarter of 2020.
Whether Balor wins or loses cannot be predicted, but he will be wary of Johnny Gargano’s return, as the Superstar will be returning sooner than later to collect some debts.
