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Finn Balor was scheduled to make an appearance during this week’s WWE NXT and Io Shirai was booked to defend her title against Rhea Ripley.
Fans were also expecting The Kings of NXT to show up during the show, while Dexter Lumis and Cameron Grimes were scheduled for a Blindfold match.
The fourth edition of NXT TakeOver: WarGames was also announced during the night. The Kings of NXT will take on The Undisputed Era during the event while Candice LeRae will captain a heel team against Shotzi Blackheart’s face team.
KUSHIDA defeated Arturo Ruas after a decent match in which both Superstars got a chance to showcase their unique skills. Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell teamed up to defeat Kacy Catanzaro and Kayden Carter during the show.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE NXT got right during this week’s show.
#5 Damian Priest helps Leon Ruff retain his WWE NXT North American Championship
Last week, Leon Ruff shocked the entire WWE Universe by pulling off the heist of the century and rolling up Johnny Gargano to not only defeat the Superstar but also win the NXT North American Championship.
This week, Gargano got his rematch for the title, and he was expecting to easily win it back to start his third reign. Gargano went after Ruff from the opening bell and viciously attacked the smaller man.
Damian Priest walked out into the arena to distract The Rebel Heart, and the distraction almost allowed Ruff to pick up the victory. Gargano hit Ruff with The Final Beat to nearly pick up the victory, following which Priest pulled the Champion out of the ring and hit him to cause a disqualification. This allowed Ruff to win the match and also retain his title.
Backstage, William Regal was furious at The Archer of Infamy for ruining the Championship match. Ruff arrived to slap Priest for making him into a joke.
Later in the night, Priest and Gargano traded blows in the ring. However, Ruff arrived to throw both men out of the ring. He then told Regal that he’d fight both men for his NXT North American Championship.
While Ruff was more or less an unknown Superstar until last week, he has suddenly become one of the most interesting characters in NXT. WWE has taken a huge chance by putting the title on him and putting him in the rivalry between Gargano and Priest. It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.
#4 Toni Storm and Ember Moon defeat Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez on WWE NXT
Toni Storm and Ember Moon joined forces on WWE NXT this week to compete against Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez. Storm tried to take the fight to Kai but soon found herself on the backfoot.
The War Goddess tagged into the match and tried to run over Kai and Gonzalez quickly. Moon was also unable to keep control for too long and the heels fought back.
The two teams kept trading the action and Gonzlez sent Storm into the steel post. The War Goddess tried to take out Gonzalez from the equation, while Kai tried to get the better of Storm. However, Storm was able to rollup The Captain of Team Kick to pick up the victory for her team.
After the match, Candice LeRae attacked Storm and Moon to make a statement and please Kai and Gonzalez. LeRae is looking to recruit the heels to her team for NXT WarGames, and it will be good to watch LeRae and Hartwell compete alongside Kai and Gonzalez.
Storm and Moon will likely join Shotzi Blackheart for the match, something that will make things much more exciting.
#3 Tommaso Ciampa sets his sights on his next target on WWE NXT
Timothy Thatcher and August Grey were set to compete during this week’s WWE NXT, and Grey went right after Thatcher from the opening bell. However, Thatcher got back in control pretty quickly and used his technical skills to drive his opponent down.
Thatcher continued to keep control and then locked Grey in a Guillotine for a tapout victory. After the match, Thatcher tried to set an example out of Grey and looked to do more damage to him.
However, Tommaso Ciampa arrived to set his eyes on Thatcher and intimidated the Superstar to back down.
This was a good win for Thatcher who has had mixed bookings over the past few months. While he looked extremely strong and unstoppable during his partnership and rivalry against Riddle, he has had a few tough months.
Ciampa has been without a storyline for too long and it’s good to watch him target someone prominent once again. These two men could end up having a good rivalry which could watch one of them progress to the NXT Championship picture early next year.
#2 A couple of returns light up WWE NXT
Finn Balor returned to the Black and Gold brand this week for the first time after his incredible match against Kyle O’Reilly where he retained his NXT Championship. The Prince of NXT revealed that he was ready to get back in the ring to defend his title.
The Prince was interrupted by Pat McAfee, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch who came out to taunt the NXT Champion. The Kings of NXT told Balor that they would take every title on the brand to send a message.
Balor did not seem intimidated by The Kings of NXT and told them that he’d brought friends along. The lights went out and The Undisputed Era returned to take the fight to the men who took them out.
Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Bobby Fish, and Kyle O’Reilly took out the heels to end this week's show. This was a great segment that not only brought the NXT Champion back to us but also allowed Undisputed Era to return to prove their point.
These two factions will battle it out at NXT TakeOver: WarGames, and it could end up being the first time that Undisputed Era wins the big match.
#1 Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley set WWE NXT on fire
Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley were scheduled to compete for the WWE NXT Women’s Championship on the show. Both women went after each other and Ripley used her strength to take down The Genius of the Sky.
Both women pulled off some power moves and it was incredible to watch the much smaller Shirai match Ripley’s strength. A strike to Ripley busted open her ear which showed exactly how physical things got.
The Genius of the Sky targetted The Nightmare’s arm and put her through a world of trouble. After the two women delivered a lot more punishment to each other, Shirai powerbombed Ripley through the announce table.
The Nightmare struggled to make it back to the ring before the 10-count and then ate an Over the Moon Moonsault from Shirai to end the match. This was an incredible match that was as good as the one between Finn Balor and Kyle O’Reilly several weeks ago.
Shirai has managed to carry the NXT Women’s Championship to new heights while Ripley came out looking strong even in defeat. This match should have closed out the show.
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