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NXT is arguably the best WWE weekly show, consistently outperforming Smackdown and Raw. The 1-hour Network only show is a mix of great stories, fantastic performers and a short format, which means that performers are less likely to suffer from over-saturation
August 1st's episode of NXT saw Heavy Machinery defeating the Australian duo of The Mighty after being distracted by the Street Profits. Moustache Mountain defeated enhancement talent in State Line, a team of Matt Knox and Brandon Taylor, Moustache Mountain followed their victory by challenging the Undisputed ERA for a rematch at Takeover: Brooklyn.
EC3 took on the self-proclaimed "the Finest" Kona Reeves, and despite a temporary distraction from Velveteen Dream, EC3 was able to defeat Reeves. Candace LeRae got a chance to face NXT Women's Champion Shayna Baszler, following Baszler's comments about LeRae.
Baszler won the match via submission, only to re-apply the hold on a prone LeRae after to garner more heat. This brought out Baszler's Takeover opponent and original Mae Young Classic winner, Kairi Sane.
Finally, the Sicilian Psychopath Tomasso Ciampa came out to address the NXT universe following his title win on last weeks NXT against Aleister Black. This bought out Aleister Black but Ciampa's former Tag Team Partner, Johnny Gargano, beat Black to the ring.
This led to Ciampa fleeing into the crowd leaving Black and Gargano in the ring; Gargano then turned back and was on the receiving end of Aleister Black's Black Mass to end the show.
#3 EC3
EC3 continues to prove that WWE was right in bringing their former development talent back from TNA Impact. This week EC3 faced Kona Reeves in a decent match, especially considering that Kona isn't the best technically gifted wrestler in NXT.
Towards the end of the fight, the Velveteen Dream distracted EC3, allowing Kona to hit the "Hawaiian" Drop. EC3 kicked out and was able to hit the One Percent for the victory.
EC3 also cut a backstage promo during an interview after the fight to further build his feud as we get closer to NXT Takeover: Brooklyn. EC3 versus Velveteen Dream is certainly one of the matches to look out for at Takeover: Brooklyn IV.
#2 Shayna Baszler
The Queen of Spades faced Candace LaRae in what was probably her best match since the Mae Young Classic. Baszler started the match by building on her taunts of LaRae from the previous week, implying that LaRae doesn't belong in the ring and that LaRae “should be at home tending to her duties as a housewife”.
After receiving a fair display of LaRae's offense, Baszler viciously targeted LaRae's left shoulder and arm, throwing her opponent around the ring.
Baszler finished the match with another patented submission move, forcing LaRae to tap out. Not satisfied with the damage done throughout the fight, Baszler re-applied the hold after which brought out Baszler's Takeover: Brooklyn opponent, Kairi Sane, for the save.
Baszler looked like she was back at her destructive best after a sub-par feud with Dakota Kai and Nikki Cross. The way that she targeted Candace's arm and shoulder was fantastic and built on the image she has of being a legitimate threat.
#1 Tomasso Ciampa
Ciampa is one of the most effective heels in the world of wrestling today. Ciampa continues to come to the ring with no entrance music, apart from the cascading of "boos" raining down on him from the audience.
Ciampa plays the role of the psychopath effectively and manages to get good heel heat without saying much.
Ciampa was the performer of the night, as he stole the show in the main event segment with Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black.
His promo from the ring was another sign of how great his work on the microphone is, and his slippery escape from the clutches of Johnny Gargano and former NXT Champion Aleister Black continues the build towards a triple threat match for the NXT Title at Takeover: Brooklyn
