WWE NXT Grades (April 1, 2020): Shotzi Blackheart impresses despite loss; huge triple-threat main-event steals the show

#3 Shotzi Blackheart vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Xia Li vs Aliyah vs Kayden Carter vs Dakota Kai [Second Chance Gauntlet match]

Dakota Kai with the chin lock on Shotzi Blackheart

Six ladies of NXT competed in a gauntlet match to determine the final entrant for next week's six-woman Ladder Match that will crown a new No. 1 contender for the NXT Women's Championship. This was a second chance for all the Superstars involved as they had previously failed to qualify for the ladder match during the qualifier rounds.

The match began with Shotzi Blackheart and Deonna Purrazzo where after a back-and-forth brawl, Blackheart hit Purrazzo with a flying senton and covered her for the three-count. She got the pinfall and eliminated The Virtuosa to advance.

Blackheart's next opponent was Xia Li who came in strong and ducked her strikes to take down Blackheart during the start of the match with a dropkick. It looked like Li would put away Shotzi, but she came back strong and cinched in a unique submission hold on Li to tap her out.

With two Superstars eliminated, Blackheart's next opponent was Aliyah who got eliminated by the same submission move that Blackheart used to eliminate Li after butting heads for a while. Blackheart's next opponent was Kayden Carter who immediately went after her and nailed a dropkick to get a near fall.

After a quick and intense battle, Blackheart hit Carter with a moonsault to get the pin. The last opponent to come out was Dakota Kai along with her ally Raquel Gonzalez who took advantage of the battle-worn Blackheart with some quick early offense.

However, Blackheart was determined to persevere and come out as the winner but Kai distracted the referee which allowed Gonzalez, who was outside the ring, to get some cheap shots on Blackheart. Shotzi was successful in countering a second cheap shot as she sent Gonzalez into the steel steps.

But, as soon as she got inside the ring, Blackheart got nailed by Kai with a huge kick to the face who then covered her to get the win and advance to the No. 1 contender's match. Although Kai earned her moment by coming in at the last moment. Props should be given to Blackheart who delivered an epic performance by persevering till the end.

Results: Dakota Kai won by lastly eliminating Shotzi Blackheart

Grades: A