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Karrion Kross was set to defend his WWE NXT Championship against Finn Balor on Tuesday night. Kross defeated Balor for the title, and The Prince had demanded a rematch against The Herald of Doomsday.
That wasn’t the only championship match set for this week’s NXT, as the Women’s Tag Team Champions also defended their gold against Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai.
Franky Monet was scheduled to make her NXT in-ring debut, while a Million Dollar face-off between Cameron Grimes and Ted DiBiase was also set for the show.
Bronson Reed entered the NXT ring as the North American Champion for the first time in his career. It did not take long before he came face to face with his first challenger.
Hit Row put the entire NXT roster on notice this week as Isaiah “Swerve” Scott and his crew looked to make an immediate impact.
In an interesting turn of events, Mercedes Martinez became the next NXT Superstar marked by Tian Sha. This will likely lead to an engaging rivalry between Martinez and Xia Li.
Take a look at the five things WWE got right on NXT this week.
#5 Raquel Gonzalez snapped after her loss to Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart on WWE NXT
WWE NXT kicked off with a big match this week. Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart walked out to defend their NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez.
Moon and Blackheart showed off their superior chemistry in the contest and kept Kai on the backfoot. The NXT Women’s Champion had to pull Kai out of the ring to protect her from taking the Blackheart Sharpshooter.
Later in the match, Moon trapped The Captain of Team Kick in a modified STF and Gonzalez had to make the save once again.
Moon took the fight to Gonzalez soon after and showed off her skills against the NXT Women’s Champion. She reversed a single-arm powerbomb into an Eclipse. The former NXT Women's Tag Team Champions hit their finisher on Kai to pick up the win.
After the match, Gonzalez snapped and viciously attacked the winners. She beat down Blackheart while Kai ensured that her partner watched on. It looks like Gonzalez and Kai will be turning heel once again. This will allow Blackheart, Moon, and several other women to step up to the NXT Women’s Champion.
Gonzalez will likely work with Kai for some time before realizing that she is the weak link in the team, leading to a rivalry between the two women.
#4 Pete Dunne nearly ripped Bobby Fish’s arm off on WWE NXT
Bobby Fish was looking to take revenge from Pete Dunne on WWE NXT this week. He looked to take control of the match early, but an elbow to the jaw slowed him down and gave Dunne the upper hand.
The Bruiserweight started working on Fish’s arm and put him through a lot of pain. He continued to kick his arm and stomped down on it to make Fish suffer.
The former Undisputed ERA member responded back with a spinebuster and then locked Dunne into a sleeper hold. Dunne managed to break free by targeting Fish’s fingers and small joints.
Fish fought through the pain and delivered some explosive moves to break free. However, Dunne continued to keep the pressure on and targetted Fish’s arm and fingers throughout the match.
Finally, the Bruiserweight hit the Bitter End to win the match. After the contest came to an end, Dunne and Oney Lorcan continued to attack Fish’s arm. They nearly put him back on the shelf before officials came out to make the save.
It wasn’t the return Fish was expecting on NXT, but it allowed this rivalry to get even more interesting. Fish will need to work on his own to take down Dunne and Lorcan to get forward.
The Bruiserweight seems to be getting back in the NXT Championship picture, and Fish will likely try to get him out of it.
#3 Franky Monet made her WWE NXT debut
Franky Monet made her WWE NXT debut this week, and John Morrison was a little too active on Twitter for the big event. She made a dramatic entrance for her match against Cora Jade.
She immediately showed her dominance by stomping down on Jade from the opening bell. She trashed-talked her opponent and kept beating her down.
Running knees into the corner nearly knocked out Jade, after which Monet hit her with a hip attack.
Monet enjoyed herself a little too much while dominating the action for most of the contest. She taunted Jade and allowed her to make a comeback into the match with a series of elbow strikes before taking her out with a Russian leg sweep.
Monet knocked Jade down with a spear, after which she hit a spin-out powerbomb and the Glam Slam for the win.
This was a good first match for Monet on NXT. She comes across as a natural heel, and WWE will need to work on her a little more to ensure she doesn’t end up like Lacey Evans on the main roster.
#2 Bronson Reed came across his first challenger on WWE NXT
In the middle of the NXT ring, Bronson Reed spoke about his NXT North American Championship victory. He claimed that he worked hard to reach where he is today, and decided to challenge anyone who wanted to take a shot at his title.
Surprisingly, Santos Escobar appeared with Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde to mock The Colossal One. While it seemed like Escobar would take a break from NXT, he decided to make a return rather quickly.
The former NXT Cruiserweight Champion spoke about how he was the opposite of Reed. He claimed that he wanted the title that represented his home country. The three men tried to storm the ring, but MSK arrived to clear the ring and stand tall.
It looks like all three men for Legado del Fantasma will remain in the chase for titles. Escobar is a good wrestler who can be the perfect first opponent for someone like Reed.
With Ciampa and Thatcher busy with the Grizzled Young Veterans for the foreseeable future, MSK and Legado del Fantasma will get a chance to further their rivalry.
#1 Karrion Kross remained the WWE NXT Champion after putting down Finn Balor
The main event of WWE NXT was set between Karrion Kross and Finn Balor. Before the match, William Regal announced that Kyle O'Reilly vs. Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano would determine the next No. 1 contender to the NXT Championship next week.
Kross and Balor started with some technical offense before the NXT Champion started dominating The Prince. Balor was no match for Kross’ power once again, and he tried to use his speed to put down the champion.
He locked in the crossface and then sent Kross reeling outside the ring with a strong kick. Kross replied with a few powerful moves and then turned around a double foot stomp into the Kross Jacket.
The Prince made it to the ropes, but the damage had been done. Even though Balor hit Kross with many of his signature moves, he could not put him away. Kross sent Balor crashing into the announcers table and kept the pressure on his challenger.
The Herald of Doomsday continued to weaken his opponent with some powerful moves and sent him into the barricades with a powerbomb.
Late in the match, Balor managed to get Kross down for the Coup de Grace. Kross did not stay down for long and hit a Saito Suplex. While The Prince avoided a running forearm, he did not survive the match for long.
Balor ran into a clothesline from Kross and then took the running forearm into a Kross Jacket to award Kross another big victory.
It was an incredible match that showed the heart of Balor. He took a lot of punishment but refused to stay down throughout the contest.
It was another major victory from Kross who has now put down the most experienced man on NXT twice. Who will step up to The Herald of Doomsday next?
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