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It's time for another episode of NXT! Tonight was action-packed, featuring the return of the NXT Tag Team Champions, Imperium. We haven't seen Marcel Barthel and Fabian Aichner in quite a long time, but they'll be in action tonight.
We'll also see the next Triple Threat qualifying match for the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match at NXT TakeOver: XXX. Finn Balor will battle two of the most aggressive Superstars on the brand, Dexter Lumis and Timothy Thatcher.
We were treated to a video package highlighting the friendly rivalry between Dominik Dijakovic and NXT Champion Keith Lee. Of course, it ended with the massacre perpetrated by the sinister Karrion Kross on last week's NXT.
NXT Opener: Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai vs Tegan Nox & Io Shirai
Io Shirai was attacked before the match, giving the heels an early advantage. Candice LeRae and Tegan Nox started the bout, but a stalemate led to Shirai and Kai tagging in.
Shirai got some revenge for the past two weeks of cheap shots, lighting up Kai with a series of kicks. The NXT Women's Champion seemingly had Kai on the ropes, but a surprise kick to the jaw put Kai back in the bout. Shirai was cut off from her corner, being forced to withstand a storm from Kai and LeRae while Nox watched on.
Shirai turned things around with a flapjack, dropping Kai on her face. The Lotus Lock was broken up by Candice Lerae, but she was immediately sent to the floor by Nox. WIth Nox tagging in, she and the champ failed to hit a double suplex on Kai, as Shirai was pulled to the floor.
LeRae was in next, launching Nox into the steel steps. Kai and LeRae took turns torturing Nox mere feet away from Shirai. However, after a distraction from Io Shirai, Nox dropped LeRae with a headbutt, giving her a prime opportunity to tag in Shirai.
Kai ran in as well, and the champ was on fire. Kai chased Shirai into the corner but was rocked with an enziguri. LeRae attempted to break up her momentum only to be met with a palm strike. A missile dropkick from the top gave Shirai a nearfall.
Though Kai escaped a Tiger Driver, a German suplex spiked her. Shirai took too much time to set up for the moonsault, though, allowing Kai to cut her off. Shirai was able to block a superplex and trapped Kai for a hanging double stomp. Kai kicked out and tagged in LeRae.
LeRae was still struggling to get to her feet, so a Tiger Feint Kick landed spot on. A springboard missile dropkick and a running double knee in the corner left LeRae open as Shirai hit Kai on the floor with a suicide dive.
Nox hit the Shiniest Wizard on LeRae, and Shirai followed with the moonsault for the win.
Results: Io Shirai & Tegan Nox defeated Candice LeRae & Dakota Kai on NXT.
Grade: B+
We get some highlights from Adam Cole's appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. Cole and McAfee got into a pretty heated argument, leading to Cole storming off, but not before dropping some expletives and shoving one of the staff members.
Last week on NXT, both Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong were eliminated from the NXT North American Ladder Match when they fell to Bronson Reed. Tonight, they faced off in singles competition.
Johnny Gargano vs Roderick Strong on NXT
Johnny Gargano and Roderick Strong took it to the mat early, with both men avoiding each other's submissions. Strong picked the ankle and tried to transition to a crossface, but was blocked.
Strong maintained a dominant position, getting two pin attempts on the first-ever NXT Triple Crown Champion. Strong took Gargano to the floor but was bounced shoulder-first off the ground with an arm wrench.
Back from the break, Strong broke away from an abdominal stretch in the middle of the ring and drove his knee into the spine of Gargano with a pendulum backbreaker. Strong continued to work over the back with forearms. Gargano escaped a Fireman's Carry position and set up for the One Final Beat, but another backbreaker caught him in mid-air.
Gargano broke away and was able to hit a diving spinning flatliner. Thanks to Gargano focusing on the arm, Strong was unable to get a lock on the Stronghold. They lit one another up with a series of strikes, leading to Strong's fireman's carry backbreaker getting turned into a hurricanrana. A kick to the face sent Strong to the floor.
Gargano followed up, sending him face-first into the barricade, ring post, and plexiglass. One Final Beat connected on the inside, giving Gargano a much-needed win.
Results: Johnny Gargano defeated Roderick Strong via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
Dakota Kai was backstage and said that she was tired of the battle royals and multi-person matches to determine a No.1 contender.
She knew that she was next in line for Io Shirai. However, Rhea Ripley disagreed.
Backstage, Kyle O'Reilly lit a fire under the rest of the Undisputed Era. Looks like the group is ready to get back to business, and that means back to dominating NXT.
Shotzi Blackheart vs Mercedes Martinez w/Robert Stone & Aliyah on NXT
Shotzi Blackheart lit up Mercedes Martinez early but was dumped to the floor after bouncing off the ropes for a clothesline. Robert Stone and Aliyah distracted her, allowing Martinez to blast her with a clothesline from behind.
A wheelbarrow gutbuster on the apron really damaged Blackheart. Martinez followed her inside, mounting her for a series of elbows and punches. Blackheart countered a fisherman buster with a roll-up, but only got a one.
A step-up enziguri set Mercedes up for a shotgun dropkick into the corner. Blackheart planted Martinez with a sunset bomb, but again Martinez kicked out. A rolling facebuster and a series of strikes, ending with a question mark kick left Martinez on the ropes for a senton.
Mercedes Martinez finally put a halt to the offense, catching Shotzi as she climbed to the top. A spider German suplex dropped Blackheart on her neck. An Air Raid Crash put Blackheart away, giving Martinez a, mostly, dominant victory.
Results: Mercedes Martinez defeated Shotzi Blackheart via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B-
NXT UK Superstar Ridge Holland had a vignette. Looks like he's been added to the NXT North American Championship series. He'll debut next week.
Keith Lee addresses the NXT Universe and Karrion Kross
Keith Lee stood in the ring and said he's not here to talk about Dominik Dijakovic, as he's a grown man. He'll be just fine. He's here to talk about Karrion Kross. Long story short, he's tired of all the bull****. He's here to call out Kross.
Instead, he was interrupted by Cameron Grimes, who was ready to take the NXT Championship burden off the shoulders of the Limitless One. Keith Lee was amused in the slightest, and in the middle of Grimes' promo goozled him by the neck. A toss over the ropes set Grimes up for a body splash. As the NXT Champion looked to do more damage, the lights went out.
It was Scarlet standing on the stage. The distraction allowed Grimes to set up for the Cave-In, but Lee easily caught him before Spirit Bombing him out of the ring. Karrion Kross appeared on the screen and gave Lee two options.
- Give him a title shot
- Everyone suffers
Lee didn't have to think about it. "Pick a time and place, and I will whoop that a**."
Imperium (Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel) vs Ever-Rise (Matt Martel & Chase Parker) on NXT
Marcel Barthel and Matt Martel started off, with one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions easily overpowering Martel. Fabian Aichner tagged in, wrenching the arm as Ever-Rise got a USA chant despite being from Canada.
Martel went to the knee, allowing Parker to tag in for a slingshot elbow drop. As Ever-Rise began to set up for some tandem offense on Barthel, Aichner spiked Parker on Bartel with a spinebuster.
The corner double dropkick set up Imperium for a spinebuster/running knee combination. The European Bomb put Chase Parker away with ease.
Results: Imperium defeated Ever-Rise via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: C+
After the match, Imperium called themselves the standard bearers of the NXT tag team division. That didn't sit well with the Undisputed Era, who ran down to lay out the champs. All four members laid waist to Aichner and Barthel.
Adam Cole, surrounded by the Era, said that it's time to get back to reality. They're the ones that run NXT. Not Imperium or anyone else. Aichner and Barthel have their hands full.
We saw a short vignette of Bronson Reed, who talked about his family and how they encouraged him to become a professional wrestler.
Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs Jake Atlas on NXT
The NXT Cruiserweight Champion has had trouble with both of these men. Isaiah Scott owns the only pinfall victory over Santos Escobar, and Jake Atlas nearly picked up a win over the champ himself.
Scott and Atlas avoided each other's kicks, but a dropkick caught Swerve on the mouth. Atlas followed up with a springboard arm drag. Scott countered a dropkick with an Oklahoma roll, but Atlas kicked out.
A springboard blockbuster dropped Scott, and Atlas countered a rolling flatliner with a kick to the jaw. The headlock Impaler DDT gave him a two-count. Swerve was able to catch Atlas with the flatliner, but couldn't put Atlas away.
Both men jockeyed for position on the ropes, leading to Atlas hitting Murphy's Law from the second rope! Swerve still kicked out! As Atlas set up for the Rainbow DDT, Swerve sent him to the floor. the House Call on the floor connected, and Scott was able to pin Atlas inside the ring with the JML Driver.
Results: Isaiah "Swerve" Scott defeated Jake Atlas via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B+
Next week, Damian Priest and Oney Lorcan will face Ridge Holland in the NXT North American Ladder Match Qualifier. However, this week's triple threat is up next.
Next week is a pretty loaded show, but we've got another major match set. The Undisputed Era are ready to get the NXT Tag Team Titles back, and they'll challenge Imperium next week!
NXT North American Ladder Match Qualifier: Dexter Lumis vs Timothy Thatcher vs Finn Balor
Finn Balor and Timothy Thatcher moved to the floor as Dexter Lumis watched on. As they both rolled inside, Lumis rocked them with uppercuts. Lumis dove through the ropes but landed on his feet when his opponents avoided. Thatcher and Balor were dumbfounded, to say the least.
Back inside, Lumis laid out both men with a pair of clotheslines. A backdrop driver nearly gave Lumis a quick win. Thatcher was disposed of, getting dumped to the floor. Balor went low, going for the legs to chop the big man down.
Thatcher rolled inside and took Balor out, looking to bring down Lumis himself with a belly-to-belly suplex. Lumis refused to give on a hammerlock and dropped Thatcher on the top ropes.
Balor caught Lumis with an enziguri but was knocked off the top when going for Coup de Grace. Thatcher took over here, sending Balor crashing to the floor before working over Lumis's leg.
Thatcher locked Balor in a headlock, but the former NXT Champion escaped, dropping Thatcher with a jawbreaker. Still, Thatcher responded with some uppercuts, pelting the Prince.
Balor caught Thatcher in a victory roll, and after kicking out Thatcher hammered him hard with another uppercut. Balor responded with some strikes of his own, leading to both men brawling in between keeping Lumis at bay on the floor.
Thatcher sent Balor to the mat but was caught with a big right from Lumis. A clothesline/bulldog combination dropped Thatcher. Balor caught the big man with a Pele kick, and spiked the former NXT Tag Team Champion with the Eye of the Hurricane.
A sling blade set Lumis up to take the shotgun dropkick. Thatcher, though, dragged Balor into the ring post, wrapping his leg around the steel. Thatcher was met by Lumis with a spinebuster, but responded with a kick to the jaw. As Balor tried to move through the ropes, Thatcher hit The Prince with a dragonscrew wrench on his injured knee, sending Balor to the floor.
Lumis locked Thatcher in Silence, only for Balor to hit Lumis with Coup de Grace. Thatcher disrupted the pinfall and trapped Balor in a grapevined ankle lock. Lumis, though, locked Thatcher in the Silence, putting him to sleep.
Results: Dexter Lumis defeated Timothy Thatcher via submission on NXT.
Grade: A-
Lumis advances to NXT TakeOver: XXX along with Bronson Reed. That's shaping up to be one monstrous ladder match!
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