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This is the first entry of a weekly series where I will grade the segments of this week's edition of NXT on the WWE Network.
We are roughly a month from NXT Takeover: Chicago and the roster of NXT Superstars are going to try to top one of the best Takeovers ever from New Orleans on WrestleMania weekend.
While there are no official matches in place for NXT Takeover: Chicago yet, we have a good feeling what some of the matches could be, including the next (and possibly final) in the amazing feud between Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa, along with the potential of another amazing match-up between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream.
On this week's edition of NXT, there was a great opening segment and four matches. It was a lot crammed into one hour of action, let's start with the best feud in pro wrestling today.
Candice LeRae confronts Tommaso Ciampa
NXT kicked off with Johnny Gargano's music, so the NXT Universe provided a loud ovation, as they believed Gargano was returning to Full Sail for the first time since Tommaso Ciampa sent him out on a stretcher.
Instead, it is what may be the greatest heel in professional wrestling, Ciampa, standing on the stage with his trademark wave.
Ciampa stated that Gargano may have won the battle at Takeover: New Orleans, but he's won the war and has broken Johnny in every way.
Johnny's wife Candice LeRae, came out to confront Ciampa, still trying to process why their former friend was acting this way.
Ciampa told Candice that he didn't know how she could marry such a big _______. He didn't finish the sentence because Candice slapped him pretty hard, but most of us could probably fill in the blank.
Just another amazing segment in the best feud going in all of professional wrestling today.
GRADE: A+
Match #1 - Lacey Evans defeats Brandi Lauren
It honestly surprised me to see NXT turn Lacey Evans heel. She's an ex-Marine and a mother, the perfect American story. But, I've learned with the several years I've invested in NXT, that Triple H knows what he's doing.
Evans has done a tremendous job in her character growth as a heel, and I feel like she can be at the top of the women's division in the near future.
She took on Brandi Lauren aka Ava Storie from Shine and Impact Wrestling. It was a quick match to put over Evans, but after the match, Kairi Sane showed up to get her revenge on the sucker punch Evans delivered a couple of weeks ago.
Not much to the match, but the revenge by Sane was good.
GRADE: C+
Match #2 - Velveteen Dream vs Ricochet ending in a no contest
When they started jawing at each other on social media, the NXT Universe got excited at the prospects of a feud between Ricochet and Velveteen Dream. That "Dream" has become a reality and the two squared off in the second match.
The best moment of this match was when Ricochet was going for a suicide dive to the outside on Dream, but saw Dream move and springboarded back into the ring at the same time as Dream slithered in.
Only a few minutes into the match the crowd started to stir, and we were wondering what was going on.
It was Lars Sullivan! He destroyed both Dream and Ricochet to make it a no contest.
Dream and Ricochet gave us a glimpse of what we could get at NXT Takeover: Chicago, and that is another contender for match of the year.
GRADE: A+
Match #3 - Kona Reeves defeats Raul Mendoza
The newest gimmick in NXT is "The Finest" Kona Reeves. I've felt since his early days in NXT that he's got that blue-chip potential to be a great Superstar, and this is his first real chance of doing so.
He faced Crusierweight Classic competitor Raul Mendoza, who's been featured quite a bit in NXT lately. I think Kona looked solid in this match and Raul looks better and better with every match he has.
The match was short and sweet to put Kona over, and there wasn't much else as NXT continues to introduce this new character, so I can't give it a tremendous grade, but I'll give it a solid one.
GRADE: C
Main Event - Pete Dunne, Oney Lorcan, and Danny Burch defeats The Undisputed Era
It's main event time for this week's edition of NXT, and it was definitely tremendous. The Undisputed Era has made enemies out of the WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne, thanks to Roderick Strong turning on him at NXT Takeover: New Orleans.
Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan have been in the crosshairs of The Undisputed Era as well, so the three decided to team up and take on the NXT North American Champion and NXT Tag Team Champions.
The main event went over 11 minutes and gave us some hard-hitting action. The best part was when Lorcan, Burch, and Dunne all decided to mangle the fingers of The Undisputed Era in the middle of the ring, a trademark of Pete Dunne's.
While on paper, the win by Burch, Lorcan, and Dunne may seem surprising, Strong and Kyle O'Reilly need some opponents for NXT Takeover, and it appears that they have found them in Lorcan and Burch.
GRADE: A
