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The Superstars of WWE NXT had their eyes set on the next NXT TakeOver event that is set to take place on October 4th. Two big No. 1 contender’s matches were already scheduled for this week’s show, while a third was added during the night.
The women of NXT competed in a big Battle Royal to crown the No. 1 contender for the WWE NXT Women’s Championship, early in the night. A Gauntlet Eliminator Match to determine the next challenger for Finn Balor’s WWE NXT Championship headlined the night.
A mini-tournament kicked off to determine who would face Breezango for the WWE NXT Tag Team Championships, and we will find out the result of the tournament next week.
NXT North American Champion Damian Priest impressed during the night, while Johnny Gargano managed to get the better of him backstage.
Ridge Holland squashed a local talent to prove his dominance, something that will come in handy in the months to come.
In this article, we will look at the five things WWE NXT got right during this week’s show.
#5 Damian Priest scores another victory on WWE NXT
After retaining his WWE NXT North American Championship against Timothy Thatcher last week, Damian Priest was set to compete against Austin Theory in a non-title match this week.
Theory has been largely unsuccessful since his return to NXT after a short stay at WWE RAW, and he looked to make an impression in this match.
Johnny Gargano gave a pep talk to Theory before the match and complimented his ability in the ring. Priest used his power and size to his advantage in the match, but Theory did not seem intimidated by his competition.
The Archer of Infamy climbed across the top rope like The Undertaker and delivered a big crossbody to his opponent. While Theory recovered to hit a rolling dropkick, he wasn’t able to put the champion away.
The fight spilt to the outside where The Archer connected with a Razor’s Edge and followed up the offence with The Reckoning to pick up the victory.
Gargano arrived to hit a Superkick to Priest while he was celebrating his victory. The two men will meet at NXT TakeOver with the NXT North American Championship on the line. WWE is doing a good job of building story between the two Superstars before the big match. Gargano will likely bring out the best of Priest at TakeOver.
#4 Jake Atlas tries to take down Tommaso Ciampa on WWE NXT
Tommaso Ciampa and Jake Atlas competed on this week's WWE NXT as Atlas looked to get some revenge. He started the match off with a flurry of explosive strikes and tried to keep the former NXT Champion at bay.
However, Ciampa proved to be too good for the cruiserweight competitor and stomped on his challenger’s head to make a statement.
Atlas tried to make a comeback with a moonsault to the floor and get a pin but failed to put down The Blackheart. Ciampa once again recovered and hit a DDT, followed by the Willow’s Bell. He could have ended things there, but he decided to taunt Atlas instead and hit him with the Fairytale Ending for the win.
While this could have been an easy squash victory for Ciampa, it seems like WWE wants to build Atlas as a brave challenger just like Drake Maverick. He did a good job at giving the former NXT Champion a tough fight and gained some more respect.
NXT is trying to take Ciampa in a newer and even darker direction, and the kind of antics that he did this week on NXT will help the former NXT Champion pick up a lot of heat.
#3 The WWE NXT Tag Team Champions look for new challenges for NXT TakeOver
A unique match was booked for this week’s WWE NXT after Fandango pitched an idea to NXT General Manager, William Regal. The mini-tournament to determine the next No. 1 contenders for the NXT Tag Team Championships saw Roderick Strong team up with Danny Burch to take on Fabian Aichner and Raul Mendoza.
The mixed tag team match-up saw representation from The Undisputed Era, Imperium, Legado del Fantasma, and Burch & Oney Lorcan.
Both teams looked to win the match, but the tension was high between them as stiff tags were made to tag each member in. Aichner impressed during the match, while Strong used his incredible style and experience to stay on top for most of the match.
Strong and Burch were able to pick up the victory, which means The Undisputed Era will compete against Burch and Lorcan to determine who will face Breezango for the titles.
This was a fun and interesting match that looked to settle the matter without getting into another long tournament or an elimination match.
Undisputed Era has been NXT’s premier tag team, while Burch and Lorcan have proven themselves on several occasions since the COVID pandemic.
#2 Candice LeRae finds her way into the WWE NXT Women’s Championship match
The Number 1 contender’s match to crown WWE NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai’s challenger for the next NXT TakeOver event kicked off this week's WWE NXT, after a tribute to the late Road Warrior Animal.
A clip of Candice LeRae attacking Tegan Nox before the match was aired to show that Nox had been injured before the big Battle Royal.
Rhea Ripley scored the first elimination of the night amidst the chaos as lesser-known Performance Center recruits were also a part of the match. Raquel Gonzalez got in on the action too and eliminated a few Superstars.
Ripley and Gonzalez tried to outdo each other with their elimination count in the match. Kacy Catanzaro took a leaf off Kofi Kingston and Naomi's book with a fantastic save to ensure she did not get eliminated early on.
While Ripley and Gonzalez were both favourites to win the match, they ended up eliminating each other to leave the match wide open for several other competitors.
At the end of it all, Dakota Kai and LeRae worked as a team against Shotzi Blackheart for some time before Blackheart eliminated Captain Kota.
The Poison Pixie finally eliminated Blackheart to punch her ticket for NXT TakeOver. This was a good match that allowed NXT to build on a rivalry between The Nightmare and Gonzalez.
LeRae winning the match allows WWE to build towards an epic match between Shirai and LeRae as both are good wrestlers who deserve a match at a TakeOver event.
#1 Kyle O’Reilly rightfully gets a shot at the WWE NXT Championship
The second big match of the night main evented this week's WWE NXT as KUSHIDA and Kyle O’Reilly kicked things off in the Gauntlet Eliminator Match. With no disqualification or count out allowed in the match, the only way to eliminate an NXT Superstar was through pinfall or submission.
KUSHIDA and O’Reilly were the perfect match for one another and they had a technical exchange to kick off the match perfectly. While they were looking to eliminate each other, Bronson Reed hit the ring to overpower both the men.
Reed ensured that he stayed up on his feet while keeping both his competitors down for as long as possible. While KOR and KUSHIDA were looking to work together to take out AusZilla, former NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream, came out of nowhere to hit KUSHIDA with the Dream Valley Driver. Reed hit his finisher on KUSHIDA to eliminate him, right before Timothy Thatcher made his way out to the ring.
KOR, Reed, and Thatcher had a interesting moments before Cameron Grimes made his way out to the middle. KOR eliminated Reed from the match and then took down Tatcher.
It was now between him and The Techincal Savage, who hit the Cave In on the former WWE NXT Tag Team Champion but could not put him away.
Kyle O’Reilly fought through the pain and fatigue to apply a leglock on Grimes and made him tap out to earn a huge opportunity. He will now compete against Finn Balor for the WWE NXT Championship at TakeOver.
O’Reilly is regarded as one of the best technical specialists in WWE, and he deserves a shot at the title. In fact, he may have been the best choice among the men who competed in the match.
Hopefully, NXT will turn this one-off match into a full-blown rivalry to give O’Reilly a few big matches.
