5 Things NXT got right on this week's episode (April 15, 2020)

Is NXT ready for all the new rivalries brewing up?
Is NXT ready for all the new rivalries brewing up?

With NXT TakeOver events out of the question, the brand continued to bring big matches and rivalries to weekly shows with this week’s show.

Some major Superstars have been missing from the weekly shows for various reasons, and NXT decided that it was time to bring Finn Balor back to the ring to take on Imperium’s Fabian Aichner. Balor has been sending statements to NXT UK Champion WALTER for several weeks now, and he continued to do the same this week.

Adam Cole was set to appear at the show, but no-showed once again and sent The Velveteen Dream a message he did not take all too well.

Matt Riddle had a huge task ahead of him as he was set to defend the NXT Tag Team Championships with a new partner in tow as Pete Dunne’s movement has been restricted due to travel restrictions.

The tournament to crown the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion also kicked off after Jordan Devlin too was grounded in Ireland.

In this article, we will look at the five things NXT got right on this week’s show to keep the show going.


#5 The Queen states why she’s the best

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Charlotte Flair was set to appear on this week’s NXT as the new NXT Women’s Champion. However, The Queen cut a pre-taped promo where she told the story of dominating three generations.

Flair spoke about how she’d defeated Trish Stratus, Nikki Bella, and Natalya, followed by current Superstars like Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks.

She then spoke about defeating Rhea Ripley for the title at WrestleMania 36, and how she’s ready for the competition from the new bunch at NXT.

Flair even went on to put over Mia Yim, who has had mixed bookings on the brand but seems like one of the most talented wrestlers on the brand, and her match against Io Shirai.

This was a promo NXT needed at a time when several Superstars are either missing or undergoing a transition. The new Champion who has achieved a lot in WWE managed to send a clear message across and remind the WWE Universe that NXT too has a lot of potentials that can undo The Queen.

With Flair playing a heel, such promos will continue to do good to her image and keep her up on the ladder even if she ends up taking some losses to the newer bunch in the future.

#4 Akira Tozawa’s performance

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The Interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament kicked off this week as Isaiah "Swerve" Scott took on Akira Tozawa in a match to award the advantage to one of the men.

Scott took the fight to Tozawa from the start and looked to take the advantage. However, The Stamina Monster, who seldom appears on RAW, showed he is much better than he is booked on the Red brand and fought back.

Scott is one of the most underrated wrestlers on the brand and has proven time and again why he deserves top chances. However, Tozawa proved to be the better man this week as he hit a diving senton for the win.

After the match, Tozawa promised to win the NXT Cruiserweight Championship once again to end the segment on a high.

This match showed how good both Superstars really are, and how underrated and underutilized Tozawa is at times. The high stakes brought the best out of both men, and it’s not the end of the road for Swerve yet either.

He is one Superstar to look out for as he should be the next in line to become the NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

#3 The Prince continued to dominate

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Finn Balor has been looking to teach NXT United Kingdom Champion WALTER a lesson for some time now, and had it not been for the current pandemic, Balor would have brought the giant to his knees.

This week, Fabian Aichner stepped up to Balor as a member of Imperium to serve his leader. Aichner did a much better job than Alexander Wolfe did a few weeks ago and took Balor to his limits. However, The Prince is not one to stay down for long and fell for a corner dropkick, followed by the Coup de Grace and 1916 DDT for the victory.

This has allowed Balor to pick up two victories over two Imperium members, similar to what The Velveteen Dream has done over the members of Undisputed Era.

Later in the night, Velveteen Dream came out to show his disappointment at NXT Champion Adam Cole not appearing at the show again, and called him the best NXT Champion of all time.

This brought out Balor - who was arguably the best NXT Champion and had set the record for the longest reign before Cole recently broke it - to reply to His Purple Highness.

Balor challenge Dream to a match next week, which will possibly serve as a No.1 contender’s match to the NXT Championship. Dream accepted the challenge and set up one of the biggest NXT matches of the year.

This one could turn out to be the biggest match of Dream’s career!

#2 Stallion Timothy Thatcher

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NXT Tag Team Champions Pete Dunne and Matt Riddle had to defend their tag team titles against former Champions Roderick Strong and Bobby Fish this week.

However, Dunne was unavailable for the show and picked Timothy Thatcher to replace him in the match as Riddle’s partner. In case you didn’t know, Thatcher was the longest-reigning EVOLVE Champion in history before he lost the title in early 2017 after holding it for nearly 600 days.

The Superstar did not know how to handle the super energetic and charismatic Riddle in his first match for NXT but tried to give it his all.

Strong and Fish, who know Thatcher pretty well, tried to work on The Original Bro for most of the match and tried not to allow him to get the tag to Thatcher. Behind the barricades, Dexter Lumis watched intensely with something on his mind.

After Thatcher got the tag, he ripped through Undisputed Era and soon managed to make Strong tap out to the Fujiwara Armbar, allowing Riddle to retain the titles.

This was an interesting way to debut Thatcher as he’s one of the bigger names WWE has recently signed. He not only managed to main-event upon debut but also picked up the victory himself and retained the NXT Tag Team Championships for Riddle and Dunne.

Later on, Thatcher gave his belt to Riddle too, showing that he might not be a long-term prospect to join The Original Bro until Dunne returns.

Will Riddle need to find another partner for his next defense?

#1 Killer Karrion Kross

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Tommaso Ciampa was scheduled to appear at the show and address his loss to Johnny Gargano last week. The two men fought in an empty building where they were given a chance by Triple H to end their rivalry for good, but an attack from Candice LeRae helped Gargano pick up a tainted win.

The Blackheart seemed disappointed and confirmed that even though the cheap finish of the match ruined the entire thing, it was the last of their rivalry. Ciampa did not shy away and accepted that The Rebel Heart was the better man at the end of the day, and that was it.

Afterward, Karrion Kross appeared and attacked Ciampa to lay him out. Fans had seen Kross outside the building where Ciampa and Gargano had their fight last week and expected a rivalry between Kross and Gargano.

Instead, Kross went after the babyface and sent a message to the entire NXT Universe. On a night where Timothy Thatcher debuted, Kross stole the show with his late antics.

Kross beginning a rivalry with the babyface is an interesting choice, keeping in mind that Ciampa is one of the biggest stars NXT has ever produced. This also confirms that The Blackheart won’t be leaving NXT any time soon, keeping that door for Gargano’s move wide open.

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