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This week was arguably the biggest in the history of NXT. The entire brand was turned upside down because Triple H appeared on RAW to ask Superstars from the main roster to walk into NXT for a fight.
The invitation was accepted by numerous main roster Superstars, including Becky Lynch, Ricochet, Seth Rollins, Cesaro, and Drew McIntyre who appeared at different stages during the night.
Apart from that, the epic ladder match which main evented the night ended in favor of The Undisputed Era who will now have the advantage at WarGames. The night was full of highs, leaving fans satisfied.
In this article, we'll look at 5 things the company got right on this week’s episode of WWE NXT.
#5 The Man kicked off another night
Every time The Man opens up a night on RAW, you know that the episode is about to get very interesting. This week, Becky Lynch took advantage of NXT’s open-door policy for Wednesday and opened the night for the Black & Gold brand.
This was one of the biggest openings we’ve had on NXT, and the face of the company was in the ring for business. She called out Shayna Baszler for a match, but Rhea Ripley answered instead.
Ripley’s attitude somewhat resembles that of Lynch, and it was epic seeing both women face to face inside the ring. Ripley proved that she could push the top women’s champion of the company to her limits, while Lynch showed that she can fend off any potential threat.
Expectedly, the match ended in a double-disqualification, as Baszler alongside Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir entered the ring to attack both women. Even though the result was disappointing, it was necessary.
The entire segment was explosive and set the pace for all that happened later on in the night.
#4 The captain of Team Kick continued to shine
No matter how many steps Dakota Kai climbs, it seems like nothing is enough to get her to the top of the ladder.
A couple of weeks ago, she delivered one of her best in-ring performances against the ruthless NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler. This week, Kai was set up against another champion of the company, Kay Lee Ray.
While there wasn't much of a story behind this clash, the action was still great and Kai showed a lot of heart once again.
Even though the NXT UK Women’s Champion did not look up to standard in the clash, Kai delivered another great performance to remind the WWE Universe that it hasn’t been her skills holding her back, but the storylines.
The match was a good one, and the after-match brawl was even better, as it hinted towards a few rivalries we could get after the shows this weekend.
Nikki Cross stood tall to close out the segment, and once again showed she's one of SmackDown’s top Superstars waiting for the right time to break out.
#3 Matt Riddle braved the storm
Matt Riddle is on track to battle in the biggest match of his wrestling career on Saturday. He will take on the former Universal Champion Finn Balor in a match that has the potential to steal the night at NXT TakeOver: WarGames.
This week, Riddle was scheduled to take on Kona Reeves in a singles match. However, after Reeves made his entrance, Ricochet appeared from nowhere to take him out, effectively taking his place in the match.
This allowed Riddle to compete against one of the fastest rising main roster Superstars just days before his big match. Not only did Riddle have to fend off the offense from Ricochet, but Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura also appeared at ringside as a distraction.
The Original Bro was able to keep his focus and picked up the win after an awkward roll-up. After the match, The Swiss Superman and The Artist entered the ring to attack both men, leading to Roderick Strong appearing to take out Nakamura.
Riddle continued to stay in the ring and took out Strong, after which he was attacked by Balor. He took out Finn as well to remain the last man standing in the ring.
This was the right booking for a man who might not win on Saturday against Balor but will need all the hype he can generate for the massive clash.
#2 The Viking Raiders found worthy opponents
The Viking Raiders moved to the main roster as arguably the most dominating Tag Team Champions in the company but battled in squash matches to prove their dominance on the main roster.
While it was good to watch them pick up quick victories at first, slowly the booking became boring, and even after winning the RAW Tag Team Championships, the duo has continued to compete against unknown jobbers.
With Survivor Series only a few days away, the company gave Erik and Ivar a chance to return to NXT, to show their dominance on the Black & Gold brand once again. Thankfully, the creative gave the two huge men decent competition in the form of The Forgotten Sons rather than booking them against a weaker team.
This allowed The Viking Raiders to show their potential properly, picking up a win against a larger team days before their big triple-threat match at Survivor Series.
This was the right move, as The Forgotten Sons were seen as an extremely threatening team not too long ago, and they did well to give the two big men a fight before taking the pinfall loss.
#1 The Revival returned home
The Revival was known as one of NXT’s finest teams during their tenure on the brand, and their move to the main roster was met with very high expectations. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder make a technically perfect tag team, and that has allowed them to shine even on the darkest days.
While they haven’t had their fair share of top matches on the main roster, this week the duo returned to NXT to challenge Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly, the NXT Tag Team Champions.
The two teams gave fans arguably the best tag team match of the month, if not the year, and a performance that would have lit up the Survivor Series stage. After an epic battle, O’Reilly saved Fish from The Revival’s finisher and delivered their finisher on Dawson to pick up one of the hardest fought victories of their careers.
While the threat of interferences loomed throughout the clash, the company allowed the match to reach a definite conclusion, which was a welcome move on a night no Superstar was safe from a brawl.
Hopefully, this won’t be the last time we watch these two teams go head to head, and we may get to watch them compete for a championship on the main roster soon.
Now you can vote for your favorite matches from the past week here!
