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Tonight's episode of WWE NXT emanated from Full Sail Live in Winter Park, Florida and kicked off with an NXT Cruiserweight Championship between Drew Gulak and the number one contender, Lio Rush.
After an intense match, that showcased high-flying action along with a decent mix of grappling and mat work, Lio Rush picked up the victory courtesy of The Final Hour to become the brand new NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
After the match, Drew Gulak snatched the title away from Rush only to put it back on The Man of The Hour's shoulder and shook his hand as a sign of respect.
Next up was a match between Rhea Ripley and Aliyah, who was accompanied to the ring by Vanessa Borne. Ripley dominated throughout the match and then scored the pinfall after she pinned Aliyah with a Facebuster. After the match was over, The Moshpit Queen took up a mic and cut a promo where she said that she will be coming for Shayna Baszler and her NXT Women's Championship.
In the next segment, the team of Tyler Breeze and Fandango - Breezango came out first for their scheduled tag-team match against Ever-Rise. When Ever-Rise's music hit, we witnessed The Forgotten Sons' Jaxson Ryker carrying the limp bodies of Matt Martel and Chase Parker. Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler came out soon after and we got ourselves a match between Breezango and The Forgotten Sons. After good back-and-forth action, The Forgotten Sons picked up the win by pinning Fandango with their Memory Remains double team finisher.
Up next was a match between Boa and Cameron Grimes and the latter picked up a quick victory following the double knees on Boa. After the match, Grimes didn't get any time to celebrate as we saw Killian Dain walking down the ramp to the ring. Grimes exited the back as Dain stared down at him. The Beast of Belfast then gave a brutal beatdown to Boa and hit him with two Vader Bombs and followed it up by slamming Boa on top of the announce table.
Damian Priest then appeared in a promo and explained that the reason why he attacked Pete Dunne last week was to garner infamy.
In the next segment, NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong faced Isaiah 'Swerve' Scott in a grueling match. For a moment it seemed like Scott was going to pick up the win but a resilient Strong turned things in his favor by tapping out Scott with his Strong Hold submission maneuver.
After the match, the rest of the Undisputed Era came out to the ring to celebrate with Roderick Strong. Their celebration was cut short by The Velveteen Dream who appeared on the big screen and reminded Strong that he has to defend his title against Dream in two weeks. Tommaso Ciampa came out next to a huge pop from the crowd. He took the mic and said he's home and is vying for the NXT Championship.
Next up was a match between Dakota Kai and Bianca Belair. The match witnessed some good back-and-forth action from both the women, especially Dakota Kai who seemed to have improved her pacing after returning from injury. Belair picked up the win after pinning Kai with the KOD.
In the main event of the night, the much-anticipated match between Kushida and Walter took place. The in-ring David vs. Goliath battle had a big match feel to it and lived up to its hype in what was honestly the best match of the night. Walter hit Kushida with various power moves and a flurry of chops but The Time Splitter kept coming back and tried his best to take down The Ring General with his pace. After several near-falls and cover attempts, the United Kingdom Champion hit Kushida with a huge Ripcord lariat to pick up the win.
Overall, it was a good show from the Black and Yellow Brand but it certainly didn't outperform last week's memorable episode. A good number of the WWE Universe as well, as well as Superstars from the main-roster and NXT, showcased their appreciation for the show on Twitter:
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