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Matt Riddle was the first person to come down to the ring, and he was joined by former Ring of Honor man, Punishment Martinez. Martinez recently signed to WWE and NXT to much fanfare. Martinez made his NXT TV debut, surprisingly against the undefeated Riddle. The match was as hard hitting as you would expect from Riddle and Martinez. The Full Sail crowd was into the match, and after a relatively short amount of time, Riddle took the victory via submission with the Bro-mission. Riddle is still undefeated and has overcome two of his most experienced competition in Kassius Ohno and Punishment Martinez in consecutive weeks. Kassius Ohno then ambushed Riddle at the top of the ramp, signifying that the story between the two is not over yet.
Ricochet had a highlight package covering his time from his debut with NXT to his Takeover Debut at Takeover: New Orleans in the North American title ladder match, to his victory against Adam Cole at Takeover: Chicago to get the title, and finally to his victory in War Games.
It was then announced that he would be defending his title on next week's NXT. Next, a fatal-four way was announced in three weeks' time to determine the #1 contender for the Women's championship with Bianca Belair the first person to qualify for the match.
Back in the ring, Humberto Carillo and Raul Mendoza would take on the Forgotten Sons stable of Blake, Cutler, and Ryker. Cutler and Mendoza started in the ring against each other. After the luchadors got off to a quicker offence, Blake got his team back in the match with powerhouse attacks.
Carillo and Mendoza got an unsurprising amount of offence against their bigger opponents but were eventually caught out by their bigger opponents. The Forgotten Sons would pick up the victory with a combination Stinger drop and stomp from the turnbuckle.
The Velveteen Dream continues to be one of the most charismatic talents behind the curtains, and on the microphone, with a backstage interview. The way he is able to capture the attention of a viewer with his words. This was followed by Undisputed Era cutting a promo against EC3 and the rest of the NXT Tag Team division, running down the other tag teams one by one.
Dakota Kai then came to face off against NXT women's champion, and Kai's former nightmare, in Shayna Baszler. Baszler came to the ring flanked by friends Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir. Baszler and Kai had faced off before, the first time putting Kai on the shelf, and a second time during Baszler's feud with Nikki Cross. Kai cleverly avoided the spot that Baszler previously used to put Kai in the shelf in their first fight.
Kai would fight back with a series of kicks, including hitting her Facewash kick and corner big boot. Kai would seem to have control of the match, hitting a diving stomp from the top rope but Baszler was able to kick out at 2. Baszler was able to hit a Super gut wrench suplex onto Kai and caught her in a the Kirafuda clutch for the submission victory. Duke and Shafir came in to beat down Kai post-fight, but the captain of team Kick was saved by Mae Young finalist Io Shirai.
Finally, the NXT Champion, Tomaso Ciampa made his promised return to Full Sail and the NXT ring. Ciampa grabbed the microphone and continued to cut another vicious tirade against everyone and everything, including Mauro Renallo. Ciampa's screed was cut off by Aleister Black. Black wanted to invoke his rematch clause against Ciampa at NXT Takeover: Phoenix in January. Black was interrupted by Johnny Gargano who advised Black that he is not done with him yet.
Ciampa looked to dodge Black's challenge by setting up Black versus Gargano is a Steel Cage match. Black then narrowly missed Gargano with a Black Mass, as Gargano was able to sneak out of the way and out of the ring in time. However, Ciampa wasn't as lucky as Black caught his with Black Mass while he was standing on the apron focussed on Gargano.
#3 Shayna Baszler
Baszler continues to be one of the most dominant women on the NXT roster, once again taking care of Dakota Kai via submission. Baszler has recently surrounded herself with former MMA co-horsewomen, Marina Shafir and Jessamyn Duke, to make her even more imposing than she was before.
Baszler continues to use a mix of joint manipulation and vicious strikes to build not just a fight-winning offence, but also a championship one. Baszler and co. are likely to face off against the trio of Kai, Shirai, and Sane when the latter returns from illness.
However, another threat that looms in the long run for Baszler is the fatal-four way in three weeks' time to determine the number 1 contender for her title. Considering the undefeated Bianca Belair has already been announced for the match following a qualifier at an NXT Houseshow, Baszler is sure to have stiff competition from the eventual winner of that match.
#2 Matt Riddle
Matt Riddle continued his run of solid performances on the Black and Yellow brand since jumping across from the independent scene. Riddle is an incredibly unique talent, and NXT is allowing him to be himself in all his bizarre glory. After already taking out a series of jobbers and knocking out Kassius Ohno at Takeover: War Games, Riddle faced off against the debuting Punishment Martinez in a strong striking encounter.
Riddle's in-ring performances seem to be getting better the stiffer his competition becomes, with this match once again raising the bar on what Riddle is able to accomplish. Throughout the match, he delivered a series of chops to Martinez's chest that echoed through the Full Sail arena, and neither wrestler looked like they were pulling their punches. Riddle's excellent submission victory, following his knockout victory against Ohno at Takeover, shows that Riddle is able to beat his opponent in a multitude of ways and also that creative is well and truly behind him in his push.
Another added bonus was when Riddle was ambushed at the top of the stage by Ohno, who appeared at the top of the ramp like something out of WWE's 2K video game series, setting a longer storyline in motion between the two.
#1 Aleister Black
Black versus Gargano II in a steel cage, sure, Black versus Ciampa for the title, absolutely, Black, Ciampa, and Gargano facing off against each other in a triple threat for the NXT title, is a dream match. All three options are on the table and all three sound like mouth-watering encounters following what these men have delivered at NXT so far. Black was incredible in his war of words against both the NXT Champion, Tomaso Ciampa, and his former DIY tag teammate, Johnny Gargano.
While Black interrupted Ciampa to announce that he intends to cash in on his NXT title rematch clause against Ciampa. However, Black was in turn interrupted by his Takeover: War Games 2 opponent, Johnny Gargano. The combination of the three men in the ring, with Ciampa trying to weasel his way out of defending the title against an angry Black, as well as setting up a potential enticing clash between Gargano and Black in a steel cage, as well as Black's maintained aggression throughout made this the highlight of an incredibly good episode of NXT.
Black also managed to finish it off by hitting an unaware Ciampa with a Black Mass to close out the promo leaving him to stand tall at the end of the episode.
