5 Things NXT got right on this week’s episode (March 25, 2020)

NXT fans were disappointed last week when they did not get to witness live action in the ring on their television screens. This week, the creatives made up for it with a loaded episode that had some of the biggest stars of the brand in the middle of the ring.

Roderick Strong was out to make a point as he was scheduled to take on Matt Riddle, while Tyler Breeze was looking to make Austin Theory pay for disrespecting him.

The Ladder Match Qualifiers also took place during the night between some of the top women of the industry, and fans were met with a pleasant surprise with the return of one of the biggest NXT Superstars.

This week’s show also saw the television debut of a team that can rip through NXT, while some lower-card Superstars also got a chance to perform in some short matches.

In this article, we will look at the 5 things NXT got right on this week’s episode.

---

#5 Breeze and Theory stole the show

Austin Theory has changed from being a pure babyface to a vicious heel in literally no time on NXT. The man who debuted against then NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong and gave him a run for his money at the Christmas Special show last year is now trying to pick fights with the veterans of the game.

After losing a battle against Tommaso Ciampa not too long ago, he taunted Tyler Breeze. Breeze and Theory were set to compete on NXT this week, and the two men decided not to disappoint the fans watching at home.

Prince Pretty taunted Theory early, but Theory made a comeback and threw the veteran into the barricades. From there onwards, the action kept on shifting, and the two men tried to take control throughout the match.

However, the youngster's overconfidence got the better of him as he started to take selfies from Breeze’s phone and then set it up to hit his finisher on Breeze. He was made to pay as Prince Pretty managed to get out of the hold and hit his own Beauty Shot to pick up the win.

This was a good television match that allowed Breeze to pick up a victory after some time. One must not forget that he is the only man in NXT to have faced the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger in the NXT ring, and a loss against him will only help Theory grow more bitter and work harder to get the better of him.

When will Breeze finally get his chance to compete for the NXT North American Championship and finally win it, even if his reign isn’t too long? We’ll just have to wait and watch.

#4 The arrival of the next generation team

One of the biggest matches scheduled for the night was between former NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong and one-half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, Matt Riddle.

The two men are no strangers to one another as we have seen them compete against each other several times, but things never get boring when they are in the ring together.

Strong started stronger but The Original Bro has much more momentum behind him than ever and was able to overcome one of the best Superstars in NXT, if not the entire WWE. Riddle hit him with the BroDerek for the pinfall victory but did not get too much time to celebrate.

After the match, Saurav Gurjar and Rinku Singh made their NXT TV debut by attacking Matt Riddle from the back. Once they were over, Malcolm Blivens arrived to provide cover Riddle and the NXT Universe that he felt this was the right time to introduce the two men as the future of the NXT Tag Team division.

Singh is a former MLB Baseball player who is widely known for the Million Dollar Arm story. Gurjar, on the other hand, has previously worked TNA in India.

Both men look like the perfect heels to take on the NXT Tag Team division and give the faction something new at a time when we can expect some teams to move from NXT to RAW or SmackDown after WrestleMania.

#3 Io Shirai's return

While NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley and 2020 Royal Rumble winner Charlotte Flair are busy preparing for their match at WrestleMania 36, the other women of NXT are busy trying to win a battle to become the No.1 contender to whoever becomes the Champion.

This week, two matches were scheduled to crown the qualifiers for the Ladder Match that will determine who will become the next challenger to the NXT Women’s Champion.

Aliyah was the first woman in the ring for the Ladder Match Qualifier and waited for Xia Li to make her entrance. However, footage showed that Li was injured in a backstage attack, possibly by Aliyah herself, and was unable to compete.

Just when the heel thought that she had the free ticket to progress to the Ladder Match, it was announced that Io Shirai was cleared to compete again, and the Genius of the Sky made her return by making quick work of Aliyah to progress to the big match.

Later in the night, Candice LeRae took on Kayden Carter in one of the best matches of the night. The fast-paced match saw LeRae trap Carter in the Gargano Escape to pick up the submission win and progress.

It was great to watch Shirai make such a quick recovery and make an even quicker rise once again. She can be a phenomenal challenger to whoever becomes Champion at WrestleMania if she wins the Ladder Match.

LeRae, on the other hand, deserves a title opportunity more than ever, and she could end up having a Match of the Year with Charlotte Flair if The Queen becomes the Champion.

#2 Lee’s apology

A couple of weeks ago, Keith Lee defended his NXT North American Championship against Cameron Grimes. While Grimes was able to give Lee a tough time, he was unable to undo The Limitless One. After their match, Damian Priest appeared to attack Lee from the back, but Dominik Dijakovic arrived to send the heel running.

Lee mistook Dijakovic as the attacker and delivered a Spirit Squad to the big man. This week on NXT, Lee proved to the NXT Universe that he rewatches his matches, and therefore wanted to apologize to Dijakovic for mistaking him as the attacker.

Good guy Dijakovic was not interested in Lee’s apology, as all he wanted now was the NXT North American Championship. This brought out Damian Priest, who too has been pushing for a chance to get his hands on the belt.

The three men got into a brawl that saw all of them deliver some big moves. Finally, Dijakovic dived onto the two big men and stood tall to end the segment. This was an interesting way to throw in The Archer of Infamy into the rivalry at a time when he already seemed set to become the next challenger.

The Triple Threat match between these two men a couple of weeks from now will be huge, and we hope that the ring will be able to bear the weight of their talent.

#1 The Last fight

The show ended as three of the biggest Superstars of our time took to the ring, as Triple H arrived and called out Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano.

He made it very clear that the two men would not get physical during the segment or the night and offered them to fight against each other for the final time to end this rivalry between them altogether.

Johnny Wrestling was not keen on having this match at WrestleMania 36, while gave Triple H another bright idea. He told the two men that in two weeks, they would fight in an empty arena and that only one man would leave.

This was a short and simple segment that built this renewed rivalry to the next level. They did not need to get physical again to sell what was going on between them, and The Game seemed like the only mediator who could hold them off from attacking each other.

Triple H telling them to fight in an empty arena seemed odd, as all the matches have been taking place in an empty arena anyways. However, it seems like the Black and Gold brand has some bigger plans for these two men, and I’m buying whatever Triple H is selling as he is a storytelling genius in NXT.