'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
NXT continued to march towards Takeover: WarGames II this week, with several of the show's key players taking part in the action.
This week's episode of NXT kicked off with tag team action, between Heavy Machinery and the Forgotten Sons. Heavy Machinery has been unsighted on NXT TV recently, with the tag team division focussing on War Raiders, Undisputed Era, Street Profits, The Mighty and the Forgotten Sons.
The last time we saw either of the Heavy Machinery boys was Otis Dozovic having a surprisingly good match against NXT Champion, Tommaso Ciampa. Forgotten Sons were represented by Cuttler and Blake, with Rykker on the outside. After a great back and forth battle, Otis Dozovic would pick up the pinfall victory for Heavy Machinery with a Pop-up World's Strongest Slam.
In the fallout from Johnny Gargano being revealed as Aleister Black's mystery attacker, Candace LaRae challenged Nikki Cross, which is hopefully Cross' last on NXT as she reunites with Sanity on the main roster for good. A match between Shayna Bazsler and Kairi Sane was also booked backstage by NXT General Manager William Regal for Takeover: WarGames II with an added stipulation, the fight will be 2 out of 3 falls.
Back in the ring, Captain of Team Kick, Dakota Kai faced off against Taynara Conti. This was the best match these two competitors have had in a while. Dakota was incredibly smooth in her transitions, and her counters were well timed making it look like she was actually getting out of the way in the last second, as opposed to her opponent running into an obvious counter. While Conti looked vicious, kicking out Kai's arm as she went for an up and over, as well as landing several stiff kicks. Kai would win after a series of stiff kicks, followed by a Kai-ropractor.
A backstage segment between NXT's latest female signing Mia Yim hinted at a fight between her and the "best of NXT" Bianca Belair. Belair continues to boast about still being un-de-fea-ted, and Mia Yim could be the one to bring that to an end. This was followed by Keith Lee and Matt Riddle hanging out together backstage. Unsurprisingly, the duo stumbled upon Kassius Ohno, who threatened Riddle by saying he liked to break new toys.
Then there was a video package pumping up the War Games match between Undisputed Era and the combined team of War Raiders, Ricochet, and Pete Dunne. The last of the video packages came from Johnny Gargano explaining why he took out Aleister Black, ending with a challenge to Aleister Black for a match at Takeover: War Games.
Finally, action returned back to the ring for the main event between Velveteen Dream and Lars Sullivan. The Dream's matches are usually entertaining, but this was a new level of aggression. Straight out of the blocks, the Dream hammered Sullivan into the corner.
However, Sullivan worked his way back into the match, throwing the Velveteen Dream around the ring and taking him down with clubbing blows. Velveteen Dream looked set to pick up the win, hitting the Dream Valley Driver and was setting up for the Elbow drop. However, the Velveteen Dream's Takeover: War Games opponent Tommaso Ciampa came down to the ring. The Dream hit Ciampa with the elbow drop and when he returned to the ring, Sullivan hit him with a Freak Accident for the win. Ciampa would beat down Velveteen Dream after the match. However, Velveteen Dream would counter the champ, hitting a twisted DDT onto the NXT title.
Following that round-up, let's take a look at the three stars that impressed the most on this week's edition of NXT.
#3: Heavy Machinery
In an ironic twist, Heavy Machinery faced off against the Forgotten Sons, and it felt more like Otis Dozovic and Tucker Knight were the forgotten sons of NXT recently. Having seen no televised matches of late, and their last appearance being a single's match between Otis and NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa, Heavy Machinery came back with a bang to this weeks program.
While the jury is still out on whether Forgotten Sons have their place in the stacked NXT Tag Team division, Heavy Machinery have proven that they are still one of the crowd favorites. Despite not being the most serious of teams, Heavy Machinery fit in well amongst the tag team mid-card of NXT which includes the Street Profits and the Mighty. This spot suits Otis Dozovic and Knight perfectly, as they have a great in-ring presence and a wonderful charismatic energy to them. While it doesn't lead to title reigns, especially considering the teams at the top of the division, it does lead to entertaining matches, and this one was no exception.
# 2 Velveteen Dream
The Velveteen Dream is set to have the biggest match of his career to date when he goes up against Tommaso Ciampa for the NXT Title at Takeover: WarGames in a couple of weeks. However, before he can get to WarGames, he needed to go through the larger than life, Lars Sullivan. The Dream started the match hot and used his early aggression to back the bigger Sullivan into the corner.
Sullivan had a long period of dominance over the Dream in the middle of the bout, throwing Dream around the ring, hitting a series of strikes and squeezing his Trapezius muscle. The Dream fought back and looked like he had the match won after hitting a Dream Valley Driver and was looking to follow it up with his top rope elbow drop. However, due to interference from Tommaso Ciampa, Sullivan was able to hit the Freak Accident for the pinfall victory.
Ciampa would beatdown Dream after the fight, but Dream fought back. This match felt somewhat fresh compared to some of the other matches that Dream has been in, and while it wasn't on the same level of Dream v Gargano, it was still highly entertaining.
# 1 Dakota Kai
This match showed why NXT has put such faith in Dakota Kai as one of the few Superstars working both the NXT and NXT UK shows. Kai really led this match most of the way, looking strong in victory, but also making her opponent look great in the process. While Kai has been playing the resolute babyface recently, taking over the mantle that Bayley left behind, she actually showed herself to be a legitimate threat in the ring during this match.
No one ever doubted Kai's ability to sell in the ring, and the work that Conti did on Kai's right arm worked perfectly into the story of the match. However, it was the skilled feet of the Kiwi superstar that won her the match, dealing out a series of devastating kicks in a blistering attack with her feet. Kai delivered a series of Kaio-Kicks and followed it up by delivering her finisher, the Kai-ropractor for the win.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
