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It's the final stretch before NXT TakeOver: XXX, ladies and gentlemen. We've still got to find out who will be the final two contenders in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match on Saturday. Finn Balor will take on Velveteen Dream in the main event, while Johnny Gargano faced off against the brute strength of Ridge Holland.
Rhea Ripley also aimed to get some revenge on Mercedes Martinez, the woman responsible for keeping her out of the NXT Women's Championship picture. In a tag team match with Shotzi Blackheart, they took on The Robert Stone Brand.
Plus, Pat McAfee and Adam Cole met face to face before their big showdown at TakeOver: XXX. This time, McAfee wasn't alone.
We kicked the go-home show of NXT off with one of the North American Championship Match qualifiers. Ridge Holland and Johnny Gargano, two men that were eliminated without being pinned or submitted, had an opportunity at redemption tonight.
NXT North American Championship Qualifier: Johnny Gargano vs Ridge Holland
Ridge Holland manhandled Johnny Gargano early on. Gargano tried to lock up, but was dribbled on the mat. Holland dumped Gargano to the floor, which ended up not working out in his favor. A kick on the apron and a stomp to the shoulder hindered the powerhouse.
Gargano avoided a big uppercut, which saw Holland's arm rebound off the ropes, further damaging it. Though Holland kept Gargano at bay for a while with is overwhelming strength, launching the NXT Grand Slam Champion around the ring, Gargano eventually brought the big man to the mat.
Holland escaped a heel hook, but Gargano had already put in quite a bit of damage at that point. With Holland down an arm and a leg, Gargano was able to work over his opponent at his own pace. Holland was able, after quite some time, to turn things around, but spiked Gargano on his head during a powerslam, forcing the ref to momentarily stop the bout.
Gargano was able to shake it off, cracking Holland's jaw with a superkick as he was talking to the ref. As Gargano went for One Final Beat, Holland rocked him with a forearm. After blocking the slingshot spear, Holland hit a powerslam for the nearfall.
Holland couldn't hit the Canadian Backbreaker, as Gargano managed to work over the arm once again. However, Holland did launch the face of NXT out of the ring with a pounce. Gargano went for a tilt-a-whirl DDT but was dropped on the apron instead.
As Holland went back inside, she was held in place by Candace LeRae. Gargano kicked the middle rope, catching Holland in the crotch. After that, One Final Beat connected.
Results: Johnny Gargano defeated Ridge Holland via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: A
Dakota Kai vs Jessi Kamea on NXT
Dakota Kai laid out Jessi Kamea immediately. The No.1 Contender to the NXT Women's Championship battered Kamea with big kicks, hammering her with two running face washes in the corner.
Kamea escaped a straight jacket, though, and rolled up Kai for two. A rolling heel kick stunned Kai, and Kamea followed up with a leaping forearm and sliding knee strike. However, she wasn't able to keep that up for long. Kai rocked her with the Go To Kick.
Results: Dakota Kai defeated Jessi Kamea via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: C-
After the match, Kai tried to call out the NXT Women's Champion, forcing Io Shirai to rush the ring. Though Shirai had Kai on the ropes, the Captain of Team Kick was saved by Raquel Gonzalez.
In the ring, Gonzalez planted Shirai with a pumphandle powerbomb.
Backstage, Tegan Nox was asked about Candace Lerae's comments from last week. Nox said that they'd been friends for years, and there are ups and downs in friendships. Nox said that she was ready to talk to LeRae at anytime.
We got a great hype package for Finn Balor and Velveteen Dream. Balor said that Dream has a lot of talent, but he'll never be able to top The Prince. They'll face off later on in the final NXT North American Qualifier.
Legado Del Fantasma vs Breezango & Isaiah "Swerve" Scott on NXT
All six men started things off with a brawl, leading to Fandango and Raul Mendoza in the ring. Mendoza was able to get to Joaquin Wilde, but a dive from the top was countered. Fandango hung Wilde up as Breeze tagged in, with Breezango meeting in the middle with a pair of boots.
Breezango laid out Wilde and Mendoza on the floor. Santos Escobar went for a suicide dive, but Isaiah "Swerve" Scott caught him mid dive with a kick to the jaw.
Back from the break, though, Wilde had Fandango on the ropes. Escobar and Mendoza tagged in, slamming Wilde on Fandango for a two-count. Legado Del Fantasma worked over Fandango in their corner.
Fandango would eventually make it to Swerve, who came in like a house on fire. Though he was able to take out Mendoza and Wilde, the NXT Cruiserweight Champion caught him with a knee to the jaw.
However, somehow, Breeze had tagged Swerve earlier, though the camera never caught it. So when Legado Del Fantasma hit Swerve with their finish, it didn't count.
Santos Escobar managed to pick up the win, still, by dropping Breeze with the Phantom Driver for the win on NXT.
Results: Legado Del Fantasma defeated Breezango & Isaiah "Swerve" Scott via pinfall.
Grade: B-
Pat McAfee brings an entourage to NXT
The Undisputed Era made their way to to the ring, waiting on Pat McAfee. The man who once joined NXT in invading the main roster back in 2019 rolled in with
McAfee claimed that Adam Cole couldn't handle him by himself, and knew that the Era would join him in the ring. Cole told Bobby Fish, Kyle O'Reilly, and Roderick Strong to leave the ring so McAfee could get some space.
McAfee went over the highlights of their last confrontation two weeks ago, where he laid Cole out cold with a punt to the jaw. He said that he was able to knock out the "King of NXT" in a minute and a half. The NFL star punter followed up, saying he'd leave Cole unconscious at NXT TakeOver: XXX.
Cole sat back and let McAfee talk. When he was done, Cole ran through security to step up to McAfee. Unfortunately, his gang of NFL stars put a stop to that. Cole, with the Undisputed Era backing him up, got in real close to McAfee and claimed that he'd make him his b****.
The Robert Stone Brand vs Shotzi Blackheart & Rhea Ripley on NXT
Rhea Ripley ran right into Mercedes Martinez, who was tagged out by Aliyah. That was, of course, a dumb move, as the former NXT Women's Champion launched Aliyah across the ring into the turnbuckle.
Shotzi Blackheart took over, planting Aliyah with a facebuster. As Aliyah broke away from a jackknife pinfall, Shotzi avoided a punch from Martinez. That allowed Aliyah to bring her down with a hair pull and tag Martinez back in.
The Robert Stone Brand tore apart Blackheart as Ripley stared on. Martinez tortured Blackheart, squeezing the life out of her with vairous submisison holds. Blackheart made it to her corner when Aliyah tagged in, and Ripley battered Aliyah with cravate style knee strikes.
An electric chair facebust planted Aliyah for a two-count, with Martinez breaking it up. Shotzi sent Martinez to the floor with an enziguri. Though Ripley planted Aliyah with the Riptide, a distraction from Robert Stone allowed Martinez to crotch Blackheart before she could go for the Senton.
Ripley took Martinez to the floor and powerbombed her over the barricade, sending her out to the uncovered concrete. Blackheat recovered and finished Aliyah with the Senton Bomb.
Results: Shotzi Blackheart defeated Aliyah via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
We got a video package for Karrion Kross and Keith Lee. At NXT TakeOver: XXX, Kross will look to end Lee's short yet historic NXT Championship reign. Over the past few months, Kross has torn through NXT's roster with ease, including destroying Lee's friend Dominik Dijakovic.
Will Kross be able to fulfill his quest, or will the Limitless One rise above the most dangerous man on the roster?
NXT North American Championship Qualifier: Finn Balor vs Velveteen Dream
Velveteen Dream and Finn Balor wrestled to a stalemate, forcing Dream to leave the ring and think up a game plan. Over the course of the break, they battled for the upper hand, with Balor eventually bringing Dream down with a chin lock.
As Balor came off the ropes, Dream caught him with a Thesz Press, rocking him with several right hands. Too much taunting and playing to the crowd, though, allowed Balor to regain control with some kicks to the leg. Balor followed up, wrenching Dream's ankle on the mat.
Dream made it to the ropes, where Balor amped up the pressure on Dream's ankle. However, Dream was able to catch the former NXT Champion with a few knees to the jaw, earning a two-count.
Balor was rocked with some strong rights by Dream, but avoied a high crescent kick in the corner, getting ung up in the process. He was able to take Balor back off his feet with a springboard double axe handle, and followed that up by hanging Balor's neck up off the ropes.
Just as Dream seemed to have things in control, Cameron Grimes came out to cause a distraction. As Dream and Balor continued to fight in the ring, Grimes climbed the ladder and retrieved the NXT North American Championship.
Balor crotched Dream at the top and tied him into the tree of woe for a series of kicks. As Dream was sent to the floor, Balor chased Cameron Grimes up the ladder. Dream took advantage, dropping Balor face first on the apron.
Balor countered the Dream DDT and escaped the Dream Valley Driver, planting Dream with the Eye of the Hurricane. The Shotgun Dropkick bounced Dream off the corner. Balor moved up for the Coup de Grace, but was again distracted by Grimes.
A superplex from Dream took both he and Balor out. Gargano came down to finally put an end to Grimes, sending him off the ladder and into the ref. Balor and Dream took out Grimes, and Dream connected with a superkick.
Gargano picked up the NXT North American Championship but was attacked by both Bronson Reed and Damian Priest. Dream and Reed took out Priest, and thanks to an attack by Timothy Thatcher allowed Dream to hit the Purple Rainmaker, sending him to NXT TakeOver: XXX.
Results: Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
After the match, the NXT North American contenders laid each other out, with Bronson Reed getting the best of the group and holding the belt high above his head.
Episode Rating: A
A pretty good go-home episode that set the platform for a big feud between Thatcher and Balor. Ripley and Blackheart showed off their incredible chemistry as well.
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