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Following the events of WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, the entire NXT Universe wanted to know Adam Cole’s intentions. Fans had to wait until the end of the night to find out what The Panama City Playboy was looking to do.
Did Cole mean to break up The Undisputed Era on Sunday, or did he superkick his friend for some other reason? There were many questions that the former NXT Champion had to respond to this week.
Dusty Rhodes Classic Cup winners MSK and the team of Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai appeared on the show to book their matches for March 3rd. The WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions also appeared on NXT to build up their match against Gonzalez and Kai.
Kushida competed in a match against Tyler Rust after his loss on Sunday. Santos Escobar, on the other hand, did not show up on NXT this week for his scheduled match against former NXT Champion Karrion Kross.
Zoey Stark competed in a singles match and impressed the WWE Universe with her performance. Pat McAfee appeared in a pre-taped promo where he told the NXT Universe that he’d already warned them against Cole.
Keeping in mind all that happened on WWE NXT, let’s take a look at the five things that went right during the show.
#5 Undisputed Era continued to fall apart at the start of WWE NXT
After the events of WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, Kyle O’Reilly decided to come out early in the night. O’Reilly called out Adam Cole, and he was willing to give his Undisputed Era brother the benefit of doubt.
Instead, Roderick Strong appeared and spoke on Cole’s behalf. He claimed that The Panama City Playboy did not mean to do what he did.
NXT Champion Finn Balor came out and blamed KOR for setting him up on Sunday. After all three men had a face-off, Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch arrived to attack all three men.
The heels targeted The Prince of NXT in particular to end the segment. Backstage, William Regal appeared to talk about the match between Santos Escobar and Karrion Kross. Escobar didn't show up at the event. Regal warned the NXT Cruiserweight Champion that he would be stripped of his title and suspended if he did not appear for a match next week.
Regal also made a six-man tag team match official for the show. The opening segment did well to continue Sunday’s story. Balor, KOR, and Strong teamed up even though they weren't on the same page.
The main event was booked in the opening segment, setting the pace for the rest of the show early on. While Balor’s rivalry against Dunne should have ended on Sunday, it looks like the creative team wants to stretch it a little more.
#4 Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon picked up a victory on WWE NXT
After failing to win the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Classic tournament, Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon teamed up once again. They took on Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell. LeRae and Hartwell took the fight to their opponents early in the contest.
A white van arrived backstage and Johnny Gargano left the ringside area to head backstage and look for Austin Theory. In the ring, LeRae and Hartwell continued to impress with their performances and stayed on top in the match.
While it looked like The Way would pick up the victory, Gargano returned with Theory. An ecstatic LeRae ran to check on Theory, leaving Hartwell to get pinned in the ring.
The match was good and allowed Hartwell to show that she has improved as an in-ring performer. Allowing Blackheart and Moon to win the contest was the right move as both women have done extremely well together.
The two could become a long-term tag team in NXT. In the SK Wrestling interview linked above, Moon revealed that she is extremely happy in teaming up with Blackheart.
#3 Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott continued to show his new side on WWE NXT
Former WWE NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff wrestled Isaiah "Swerve" Scott this week. Ruff has had a good run on NXT and has managed to pick up some surprising victories over NXT's top Superstars.
Scott was overconfident from the start as he was sure that Ruff wouldn’t be able to surprise him in the contest. His overconfidence proved to be costly early on as he nearly lost the match.
Scott did not hold back from there on and took the former NXT North American Champion down with a big clothesline. He set up towards the Crucifix Bomb, but Ruff reversed it into another surprise pinfall that earned him the victory.
Scott was visibly shocked by the outcome and lost his cool. He viciously attacked the former Champion and revealed that he was tired of seeing Ruff getting all the opportunities in NXT.
Another victory for Ruff has raised many questions. But the final part of the segment helped Scott earn more heat after his rivalry against Jake Atlas. What does the Superstar have in mind as he continues to search for more opportunities?
#2 Tyler Rust and Kushida impress on WWE NXT
Kushida appeared to announce that he was ready to go after Johnny Gargano again after losing at WWE NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day. Bronson Reed showed up to let the Japanese Superstar know that he wasn’t the only one who was interested in the NXT North American Championship.
Malcolm Bivens challenged Kushida to fight his client, Tyler Rust. Bivens was sure that Rust would prove that he’s better than The Time Splitter.
Rust went after Kushida’s neck early in the contest and capitalized on the injury that the latter picked up on Sunday. Bivens was proud of his client until Kushida started fighting back and focused on Rust’s right arm to build towards the Hoverboard Lock.
Rust continued to fight on and gave Kushida a tough time in the contest. But the Japanese Superstar finally trapped Rust in the Hoverboard Lock, and Bivens threw in the towel for his client before Rust could tap out.
The result allowed Rust to come out strong as he did not give up in the contest. Kushida and Rust impressed with their performances, and it will be great if both Superstars get in contention for the NXT North American Championship.
#1 The Prince gets pinned; Adam Cole has the last laugh on WWE NXT
Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch teamed up on WWE NXT to take on Finn Balor, Kyle O’Reilly, and Roderick Strong. With six of the top Superstars from NXT in one match, fans were looking forward to a great bout.
Strong and Balor kept the pace up throughout the earlier part of the contest. Dunne tried his best to keep the babyfaces down and used some technical holds to punish his opponents.
All six men continued to trade blows, and KOR was visibly hurt from the attacks by the heels earlier in the night. The Prince came into the contest once again and faced off against Dunne.
A brawl broke out outside the ring and Strong tried to save O’Reilly from Burch and Lorcan.
The referee was taken out in the chaos, and Adam Cole appeared to assault O’Reilly and take him out of the equation. Balor accidentally hit the Pele Kick on Strong, and Dunne hit The Bitter End on The Prince to pick up the victory.
After the match, Cole planted the NXT Champion with another Superkick and then held the title high above his head to make his intentions clear. This was a great match between all six men.
Cole’s return and attack on KOR and Balor implied that he will be going after O’Reilly first before getting into contention for the NXT Championship.
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