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Tonight's edition of NXT came in the wake of major developments in the main event scene, as it was last week that Tomasso Ciampa relinquished his NXT Title due to an injury. The injury is bound to set him back for at least six months.
Things move pretty quickly in NXT, as we witnessed a Fatal-Five Way match last week between Ricochet, Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, Matt Riddle, and Adam Cole.
Undisputed Era's Cole went on to win the whole thing and will be going at it with Gargano for the title at NXT Takeover in April.
Tonight, we witness the finals of The Dusty Rhodes Classic!
#5 Cole and Gargano face off!
Adam Cole started things off on tonight's edition of NXT, and proceeded to call out Johnny Gargano. The crowd seemed to be split between the two exceptionally talented athletes, but Cole went on to remind the fans that he doesn't need their chants in the least.
Gargano, on the other hand, said that he loves those chants. Gargano proceeded to call himself "Johnny TakeOver", referring to his thunderous performances in the past PPVs.
Cole reminded him that despite said performances, he hasn't won anything of note in many of those PPV's. Maybe he should be referred to as "Johnny Participation". Cole then talked about his multiple accomplishments when it comes to TakeOvers, including becoming the NXT North American Champion, winning the War Games match and of course, making his debut.
Gargano responded by stating that he and Ciampa once came into NXT as a couple of "unsigned indie guys". At TakeOver, he will finally win the big one and become NXT Champion. Cole leaves the ring, but not before mocking him for his "inspirational story".
The segment came to an end as Undisputed Era watched from the stage.
#4 Baszler demands respect
A tag team bout between Aliyah & Vanessa Borne and Kacy Catanzaro & Lacey Lane failed to reach its conclusion, as NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler came out to the ring, along with Jessamyn Duke, and Marina Shafir. The trio couldn't get hold of a sneaky Aliyah and Borne, who proceeded to leave the ring immediately and bail out.
Baszler kicked the tar out of Lane's face with a big boot, forcing the referee to immediately call the match a no contest.
Cantanzaro did her best to hold her own against the dastardly heels, kicking Duke and Shafir off the apron, but got caught by Baszler and put into sleep by the champ. Following the attack, Baszler headed over to commentary and announced that she would keep causing carnage until she gets the respect she deserves as a champion.
#3 Riddle makes short work of Kona Reeves
The King of Bros, who has vowed to one day retire Brock Lesnar, had another quick outing inside the squared circle tonight.
The match kicked off with a slap on the face of Riddle by Reeves, followed by a couple more shots. Out of the blue, came The Velveteen Dream to interrupt the match, being rolled out on a couch by two women.
Dream watched the match as a distracted Riddle almost lost it. Riddle proceeded to hit Reeves with a string of elbows to the head, followed by his patented Bromission out of nowhere, which was enough for Reeves to submit.
Dream announced Riddle as the winner of the match, which prompted The King of Bros to head over to The Dream, take a sip from his chalice and toss it away. Riddle left the spot, after stating that he would see The Dream at TakeOver.
#2 Black and Ricochet take on The Forgotten Sons
The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic saw the recent call-ups to the main roster, Aleister Black and Ricochet take on The Forgotten Sons, Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler.
The high-flying duo stood tall over the notorious duo of Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa, famously named #DIY, to advance to the finals, while the Sons disposed of Moustache Mountain to secure their spot against Ricochet and Black.
As the match progressed, Ryker sneaked in a hard blow to Ricochet on the ring ropes, as he was about to handspring off the ropes in an attempt to fight off both of his opponents. During the closing moments of the match, Blake went for a pin on Aleister Black, after a thunderous double knee. Black managed to put his foot on the rope, which was swayed away by Ryker.
Unfortunately for Ryker, the ref caught him in action and sent him packing to the back. A Black Mass from Black, followed by a 630 from Ricochet resulted in a 3-count, with the duo winning the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic cup.
#1 The face off
After going through the likes of Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa, and now The Sons, the high-flying duo of Aleister Black and Ricochet finally got their hands on the coveted Dusty Rhodes Tag Team trophy.
After disposing of The Forgotten Sons, as Ricochet and Black stood tall in the ring, taking a closer look at the shining cup, they were interrupted by none other than The War Raiders.
The ferocious duo joined the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic winners in the ring and took a good long look at their NXT TakeOver opponents.
The War Raiders are the current NXT Tag Team Champions and are all set to face off against Aleister Black and Ricochet on April 5th. After their recent victory, will Ricochet and Black be able to keep the momentum going on and end up winning the NXT tag gold? Only time will tell, as we inch closer to WrestleMania weekend.
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