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Last week's NXT saw Samoa Joe reinstated and Indi Hartwell put her foot down with The Way. The Black and Gold Brand will follow through this week. Johnny Gargano will fight Dexter Lumis, with Hartwell's heart on the line.
Dakota Kai also turned on NXT Women's Champion Raquel González last week. Tonight, Kai will explain her actions. What did the Captain of Team Kick have in store for her former ally? Ridge Holland also returned last week, aligning himself with Oney Lorcan and Pete Dunne.
We kicked things off with Hit Row and Legado Del Fantasma in tag team action.
Hit Row w/Isaiah "Swerve" Scott and B-Fab vs Legado Del Fantasma w/Santos Escobar on NXT
Hit Row tossed Legado Del Fantasma out of the ring before we officially started the match with Ashante "Thee" Adonis and Raul Mendoza. Adonis' aggression only increased after joining Hit Row a few months back, and it showed in this match tonight.
Mendoza ducked a dive from Adonis, though, allowing Joaquin Wilde to tag in. Adonis dropped him with a neckbreaker before tagging in the big guns of Hit Row, Top Dollah. Wilde was placed up top and tossed across the ring with a one-handed choke toss. Hit Row caught Wilde with a powerbomb/basement dropkick combination, and Adonis followed with a spinning flapjack.
Santos Escobar distracted the ref and Hit Row, allowing the former NXT Cruiserweight Champion's team to take Adonis to the floor and into the barricade.
Legado Del Fantasma battered Adonis with clotheslines in the corner and a double suplex. A springboard moonsault from Mendoza earned him a two-count. Adonis ducked a shining wizard and got to Top Dollah. The big man bulldozed Wilde and Mendoza, and a big running knee nearly knocked Wilde's head off.
A one-armed sidewalk slam set Dollah up for a big splash, but as he bounced off the ropes Santos Escobar cracked him with a chair.
Results: Hit Row defeated Legado Del Fantasma via DQ on NXT.
Grade: C+
Escobar sent Top Dollah into the steps as Legado Del Fantasma eliminated Ashante "Thee" Adonis. After that, they held Isaiah "Swerve" Scott down while Escobar hit him with the chair. Escobar yanked the grill out of Swerve's mouth and placed a chair around his neck. Before he could hit a diving stomp, Dollah pulled Swerve to safety.
B-Fab hit Wilde with a chair and Dollah came in for a big double dropkick to Escobar and Mendoza. As Ashante battered Wilde, Swerve rolled in and planted Mendoza with the JML Driver.
NXT GM William Regal met Samoa Joe backstage and placed a large group of security around him. Regal said now that Joe was a competitor again, he wanted to keep him away from the NXT Champion until NXT TakeOver: 36.
We saw Dexter Lumis backstage drawing more art ahead of his match with Johnny Gargano on NXT tonight. Will Lumis finally win the heart of Indi Hartwell?
Ridge Holland w/Pete Dunne and Oney Lorcan vs Ikemen Jiro on NXT
This was Ridge Holland's first match back with NXT since his nasty injury last year. Holland hammered Ikemen Jiro with a nasty uppercut, but was surprised by Jiro's right hands. Still, he shrugged them off and sent him to the floor before pouncing the 205 Live star into the plexiglass.
At that point, Jiro was done, but Holland wasn't done. A high-angle exploder suplex dumped Jiro on his head, and Holland tore the jacket off. A pair of double-arm trapped belly-to-belly suplexes left Jiro in a bad way. Holland scopped Jiro up for an Emerald Flowsion for an easy victory.
Results: Ridge Holland defeated Ikemen Jiro via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: C
NXT's Bruiserweight Pete Dunne picked up the mic and said "everyone thinks they're bad until a real bad man steps in the room." Dunne said they were the three most dangerous men in NXT and dared anyone to challenge them.
Franky Monet and Jessi Kamea lost last week, and Franky was furious. She said that Jessi and "Suit Man" Robert Stone were used to being losers, but she wasn't. Things needed to change, and they could take it or leave it.
Bobby Fish vs Roderick Strong w/Diamond Mine on NXT
These former NXT Tag Team Champions, former brothers in the Undisputed Era, went at each other like rabid wolves. They were both looking for a takedown but wrestled to a stalemate. Bobby Fish rocked Roderick Strong with a knee to the gut, but Strong responded with a flying knee to the face.
Fish shrugged off the blow, bringing the former NXT North American Champion to the mat. Strong attempted to transition into a choke, but Fish hit a snapmare to break the grip. They pelted each other with kicks and punches, with Fish getting the best of Roddy.
A hellacious roundhouse caught Strong bouncing off the ropes, sending him to the apron. Strong withstood a lot of pressure during the break, but finally turned things in his favor when he caught another roundhouse. Strong cracked Fish's spine with a backbreaker and followed with a bow and arrow lock.
Fish fought back with more heavy kicks. Each strike seemed to take Strong further out of the match. The ref pulled Fish off of Strong in the corner, allowing Strong to blindside him with a leaping forearm. NXT's Messiah of the Backbreaker hit two more backbreakers on Fish.
Fish ducked a right hand and hit a back elbow to the jaw. A striking combination targeting the left knee to Strong down, and Fish followed with a sliding clothesline for a two-count.
Strong placed Fish on the ropes for his running forearms, followed by a big mat slam for a two-count. Strong was caught with a schoolboy and barely kicked out in time. He responded with a knee to the jaw and pinned Fish with the End of Heartache.
Results: Roderick Strong defeated Bobby Fish via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
Cameron Grimes met the NXT Million Dollar Champion LA Knight in the locker room to prepare for their match with the Grizzled Young Veterans up next. They questioned whether they could trust each other or not, but both claimed to be men of their word.
LA Knight and Cameron Grimes vs The Grizzled Young Veterans on NXT
Cameron Grimes started this NXT tag team match off with Zack Gibson, quickly tagging out to LA Knight. Knight hammered Gibson with big rights, but Gibson was saved from a whip into the corner by James Drake.
The former NXT UK Tag Champions got the better of Knight, but he was able to make it to Grimes. Grimes sent Drake to the floor, but thanks to an accidental distraction by his boss, was blindsided by Gibson. The Grizzled Young Veterans kept the pressure on the Hillmillionaire of NXT, and Gibson shut him down in the middle of the ring with a sleeper.
When Grimes fought to his corner, LA Knight wasn't there for him. Grimes tore his butler outfit off and turned into a two-on-one onslaught from GYV. Grimes bounced Drake's face off of Gibson's and sent them to the floor with a double hurricanrana.
In the ring, Grimes planted Drake with a Collision Course, earning a near fall. He went for the Cave In, but Gibson distracted him. After that, GYV hit the Ticket to Mayhem.
Results: Grizzled Young Veterans defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B
After the match, WWE Hall of Famer Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase came down to the ring. He told Grimes that he needed to think of a way to get out of this situation, and helped him to the back.
Dakota Kai turned on NXT Women's Champion Raquel González last week. Kai claimed that Raquel would be nothing without her. She was responsible for Raquel capturing the title, and has been there for every single title defense. Without Kai in her corner, González won't be champion for long.
NXT Breakout Tournament Opening Round: Trey Baxter vs Joe Gacy
Joe Gacy ran over Trey Baxter in the early goings, but escaped a running powerslam and sent him to the floor with a dropkick. Gacy caught a suicide dive, bouncing Baxter off the ropes for a forearm.
Back in the ring, Gacy's smashmouth style hammered Baxter into the mat. Forcing Baxter against the ropes, he was battered by a trio of deadly clotheslines. The suplex earned Gacy a two-count.
Baxter responded with a springboard dropkick, followed by a pair of suicide dives and a Fosbury flop. Gacy fought out of a sleeper, though, cannonballing into the corner with Baxter on his back.
Gacy took Baxter up top, but Baxter sent him down to the mat. A 450 foot stomp sent Baxter to the semi-finals of the NXT Breakout Tournament.
Results: Trey Baxter defeated Joe Gacy via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B
Baxter will face Odyssey Jones in the semis while Carmelo Hayes battles Duke Hudson.
We saw the NXT Women's Tag Champions at a sushi restaurant. Io Shirai ordered something, with Zoey Stark just saying she'd have what her partner had. Though Shirai ate hers, Stark hid hers under the table and across the restaurant. Shirai thanked the waitress and even hugged her, to Stark's surprise.
Shirai left Stark with the bill. When Stark asked the waitress if she knew the former NXT Women's Champion, she said they just spoke the same language.
Indi Hartwell is asked who she's pulling for in the NXT main event. Was she going to pull for family or for true love? Hartwell didn't give an answer, but said if Dexter Lumis won, Johnny Gargano and Candice LeRae would see he's not so bad.
NXT Champion Karrion Kross stormed the announce table with a microphone, standing on top to call out Samoa Joe. Joe ran down to the ring, with the NXT security guards failing their jobs in hilarious fashion. Kross escaped just as Joe got to the ring, and the Samoan Submission Machine put one of the guards in the Coquina Clutch, sending a message to Kross.
Love Her or Lose Her: Dexter Lumis vs Johnny Gargano on NXT
Johnny Gargano took down Dexter Lumis with a series of arm drags, working over the left shoulder of the Tortured Artist of NXT. Gargano hit a suplex on the floor, but couldn't continue the onslaught as Indi Hartwell appeared on the ramp.
Hartwell urged him to give Dexter a chance. When the NXT Triple Crown Champion rolled inside, Lumis took him down with a Thesz Press. Lumis disappeared under the ring, and Indi followed him. Candice came down to ringside, and the Gargano's pulled both of them out from under the ring.
Gargano sent Lumis' head first into the plexiglass. He continued to punish Lumis during the break, but when we came back he was planted with a big spinebuster. Lumis followed up with the clothesline/bulldog combination. A back suplex and kip-up leg drop earned him a two-count.
Gargano responded with a suicide dive before verbally berating Beth Phoenix for causing "all of this." That allowed Lumis to recover and counter the slingshot spear with an uppercut. A rope-assisted falcon arrow nearly put Gargano away.
They traded strikes, with Lumis getting the better of Mr. NXT with a superkick. Lumis then locked eyes with Hartwell and signaled for her springboard elbow drop. Gargano avoided it and synched in the Gargano Escape. Lumis got to the bottom rope and brushed Hartwell's face.
Gargano sent Lumis into a distracted Hartwell, injuring her.He tried to check on Hartwell, but Gargano caught him on the floor with a flying tornado DDT. After that, the One Final Beat spiked Lumis for the win.
Results: Johnny Gargano defeated Dexter Lumis via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
A heartbroken Indi Hartwell walked up to the stage, but then abandoned The Way. She ran back to the ring and locked lips with Lumis. Gargano may have won the match, but love found a way.
