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Tonight's edition of NXT was a special one, as two tag team titles were on the line. The WWE Women's Tag Team Champions and former NXT Women's Champions in their own right, Sasha Banks and Bayley defended their titles against Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox.
The first match of the night was the NXT Tag Team Championship bout. Imperium's Fabian Aichner and Marcel Barthel defending their titles against veteran tag team Breezango. Tonight's special entrance for Tyler Breeze and Fandango was a special "remix" edition of Imperium dubbed "Emporium."
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) vs Imperium (Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) (c)
Imperium took quite an offense to Breezango's antics, attacking them right as the bell rang. Barthel brought Breeze to Imperium's corner, completely separating him from his partner.
Barthel tagged in and was caught by a surprising running crossbody from Breeze, sending Aichner through the ropes. Breeze's momentum was completely halted, however, when Barthel came in, sending him to Aichner who lawn darted Prince Pretty into the plexiglass.
Back inside, Breeze was again trapped behind enemy lines. Aichner and Barthel battered the Breeze for a few more moments, but he was finally able to tag in Fandango, who took out Aichner with a diving knee and Barthel with an arm trapped backbreaker. A powerslam drove Aichner into the mat, and he followed Imperium through the ropes with a big dive as we cut to break.
Back from commercial, and during the break Breezango rocked Barthel with a nasty pair of kicks. however, Barthel was able to make it to Aichner, tossing Breeze off the top for a brainbuster. Barthel, though, was stunned by a pop-up enziguri. Fandango tagged in, leading to the slingshot elbow drop "Faux Pas." Aichner broke it up by driving Breeze through the pinfall.
Barthel and Aichner failed to deliver the European Bomb, and Breeze sent Barthel to the floor with a Supermodel Kick. Fandango connected with the Last Dance on Aichner. Still, Barthel broke it up, saving their title reign.
As Breeze and Barthel fell to the floor, Indus Sher came out to make an impact. However, they were met by Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch.
Barthel knocked Breeze off the apron and into the teams, but was rolled up by Fandango. Luckily for Imperium, Aichner was the legal man, and he spiked Fandango out of the pin with a DDT.
Results: Imperium retained their NXT Tag Team Titles against Breezango via pinfall.
Grade: A-
Tom Phillips interviewed Velveteen Dream, who was asked about his partnership with Dexter Lumis.
Speak of the devil, Lumis appeared behind Dream's couch to leave him a drawing of the two as NXT Tag Team Champions.
With Damian Priest's incredible performance at NXT TakeOver: In Your House, he still needed to pick up some victories on NXT. In a huge surprise, Damian Priest's opponent was none other than former rival and the resident monster of NXT Killian Dain.
Damian Priest vs Killian Dain on NXT
Killian Dain was able to get an upper hand early when Damian Priest tweaked his back going for a leapfrog. Priest fought off Dain with a bell clap and a thrust kick. He caught Dain with a roundhouse kick but was caught in the ropes with a guillotine leg drop.
Priest withstood a headbutt and lit up Dain with a kicking combination. Dain caught him going for another strike, and put some more pressure on the back with two belly-to-back suplexes. A third was turned into a facebuster, earning Dain a two-count.
Dain lost the upper hand again when he ran into the corner for a big body splash, instead missing and bouncing off the turnbuckle chest first. Priest rocked him with another striking combination, taking Dain off his feet. A corner springboard forearm earned Priest a two-count. A few running back elbows in the corner dazed Dain, but he came out for the third with The Divide.
Priest was able to kick out, somehow. Dain set up for the Ulster Plantation only to be rolled up by Priest, who then caught Dain with the windmill kick and The Reckoning.
Results: Damian Priest defeated Killian Dain via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: B
As Killian Dain left the arena, he noticed Robert Stone drunkenly standing against the plexiglass on NXT. He knocked Stone to the floor, where he apparently stayed throughout the commercial break.
Aliyah noticed Stone and brought him to ringside, hoping to be the next signee for the Robert Stone Brand.
Xia Li vs Aliyah on NXT
Xia Li rocked Aliyah with some strong kicks but was taken over with a bridging northern lights suplex. Li kicked out and hit an enziguri on her long-time rival.
A series of thrust kicks left Aliyah dazed in the corner for a running forearm. A running single leg dropkick took Aliyah out. Luckily for her, Robert Stone accidentally distracted her when he vomited all over the ring.
Aliya was able to roll up Li for the win.
Results: Aliyah defeated Xia Li via pinfall.
Grade: C-
Aliyah celebrated with Robert Stone, the latter of whom couldn't even get off the apron correctly. However, when he eventually sobers up, he may be surprised to know he just led Aliyah to a big victory tonight. Could this be the NXT Superstar Stone has been missing since he was abandoned by Chelsea Green?
We were shown some footage of Tim Thatcher's "Thatch as Thatch Can Wrestling Camp" where the former NXT Tag Team Champion (kind of) tortured his students. Next time, he said, the real work begins.
Adam Cole and Bobby Fish were awaiting Roderick Strong in the limo. When Roddy joined, Cole and Fish were happy to let him know that they had gotten him the help he needed. The doctor, though, was Kyle O'Reilly in disguise.
KOR asked Strong to go into detail about what happened to him the night he and Fish were kidnapped. The Inkblot test failed, with Strong failing to get the trunk and Dexter Lumis out of his head. "Doctor" Kyle felt that the best way to fix Roddy was to face...the trunk!
Roddy seemed game at first but ended up running away once he got near the trunk.
Backstage, Adam Cole was asked about the message he received from Scarlett last week. The NXT Champion said he'd always be NXT Champion before getting interrupted by NXT North American Champion Keith Lee.
The Limitless One said not to worry about Karrion Kross. The one who is gonna take that title from the Panama City Playboy is Keith Lee himself. Lee shattered the hour glass before the two walked away.
Cole made his way to the ring to address all of his challengers. For 381 days, Adam Cole has been the NXT Champion. He considered himself the hardest working man in this business. Considering his long reign, his challengers need to prove themselves. Karion Kross defeated Tommaso Ciampa, but so has Cole, so back of the line.
Keith Lee was next, and Cole said he had his eyes on the NXT North American Championship sitting on Lee's shoulder. With that, it seemed that Cole officially challenged Lee for his title, hoping to one day be called "Champ Champ."
Lee came out, shortly followed by Johnny Gargano, who still had a bone to pick with Lee. Gargano said that his sights were still st on the NXT North American Championship, especially after getting a pinfall victory over Lee last week.
But why stop there? No, Gargano still had plans to join his wife Candice LeRae as the first married couple to hold the top titles on NXT. As Lee and Gargano bickered, they were cut off by Finn Balor.
The Prince completely ignored Gargano, walking up to Lee to claim that he was taking the North American Championship before taking Adam Cole's NXT Championship. Balor called Cole a "transitional champion" which he took personally. William Regal appeared on screen.
The NXT General Manager revealed that Johnny Gargano and Finn Balor would both challenge Keith Lee for the NXT North American Championship next week.
The winner? Well, they'd go on to face Adam Cole, of course, in a Winner Takes All Match on July 8th.
Candice LeRae tried to get in the face of Keith Lee but was caught off guard by Mia Yim, who took her to task as we moved onto our next match on NXT.
Kayden Carter w/Kacy Catanzaro vs Dakota Kai w/Raquel Gonzalez on NXT
Kayden Carter took Dakota Kai down with a double leg takedown, followed by a running crossbody. Kai kicked out of a sunset flip but was caught by a springboard side-kick. She led Carter around the ring, hoping to get a distraction from Gonzalez. Carter saw it coming and seemingly outsmarted the duo.
However, Gonzalez's presence did allow Kai to hit a Scorpion Kick. Carter shook it off, bringing Kai down with a wheelbarrow victory roll into a sidekick to the jaw. A knee caught Kai coming through the ropes, and a rope-assisted facebuster dropped Kai face first.
Gonzalez distracted Carter again after dropping Catanzaro on the apron. This allowed Kai to force a submission from Carter.
Results: Dakota Kai defeated Kayden Carter on NXT.
Grade: B-
Backstage, in black and white, we saw Scarlett and Karion Kross find the broken hourglass on the floor.
Something tells me Keith Lee has some horrifying payback coming his way.
A Mercedes Martinez vignette played, as the veteran looks poised to make her return to NXT.
Bronson Reed vs Leon Ruff on NXT
Bronson Reed ran through Leon Ruff with ease. A clothesline and a running senton crushed Ruff. He rose to the top for a big splash, putting the young man away quickly.
Results: Bronson Reed defeated Leon Ruff via pinfall on NXT.
Grade: D-
After the match, Bronson Reed called out Karrion Kross for next week. Kross dropped Reed with some Doomsday Saito's ahead of his big match with Tommaso Ciampa at NXT TakeOver: In Your House. Will Auszilla be able to hand Kross his first defeat on the Black & Gold brand?
In the parking lot, Damian Priest was furious because all of his tires had been slashed. Cameron Grimes rolled up, laughing and asking if he needed and Uber before driving off. Last week, Priest was the reason for Grimes being forced into a match with Finn Balor. Looks like the Archer of Infamy's next target is the Carolina Caveman.
Santos Escobar, accompanied by Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde, made their way to the ring. The new NXT Cruiserweight Champion said that El Hijo del Fantasma was known as the greatest Lucha libre wrestler of all time.
However, as a luchador, all they see is the mask. Escobar said that his father always told him he'd be a leader, not a luchador, and that's what he plans on turning Mendoza and Wilde into. He's the Leader of Leaders.
Before he could continue, Drake Maverick interrupted and tore into Escobar and his two henchmen. Maverick put up a great fight but was ultimately overtaken by the numbers game. The trio dropped Maverick through steel barricades before sending him through a table with the Phantom Driver.
Drake Maverick, during the break, was taken to an ambulance and sent straight to a medical facility.
NXT Main Event - WWE Women's Tag Team Title Match: Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox vs Bayley & Sasha Banks (c)
Sasha Banks and Tegan Nox began the bout, with the former NXT Women's Champion easily out-maneuvering Nox. However, a tag to Blackheart nearly lost Sasha and Bayley the titles following a surprise roll-up.
Blackheart's unconventional offense was difficult for Bayley to comprehend at first, and found herself getting rolled up as well. She quickly escaped, though, and rocked Blackheart with a running knee.
During the break, Banks and Nox tagged in, and Nox seemed to have the champs reeling. However, the Boss & Hugg Connection were able to cool Nox's steam. Nox tagged out to Blackheart, who came in like a house on fire. A roundhouse, forearm, and switchblade kick to Banks' head set up for the belly-to-back suplex that dumped Banks right on her neck.
Banks avoided the wrecking ball dropkick through the ropes, following with a meteora off the apron. Back inside, she got a nearfall. Nox tagged in, leading to a pair of cannonboars from Blackheart and Nox to the champs. A diving crossbody from Blackheart took both Bayley and Sasha out on the floor following a big chokeslam to Banks from Nox.
An assisted Shiranui might've crowned new champions, but Banks broke up the pin. Banks tagged in and avoided a Doomsday Device, nearly locking Blackheart in the Bank Statement. Blackheart countered with a cattle mutilation.
However, Bayley came in with a chair, only to be stopped by Nox, who picked it up. The ref, assuming Nox brought it in, turned his back to the action, allowing Bayley to break up the submission. Banks locked in the Bank Statement again to pick up the victory and retain their WWE Women's Tag Team Titles.
Results: Sasha Banks & Bayley defeated Shotzi Blackheart & Tegan Nox in the NXT main event.
Grade: B+
Immediately after the match, NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai sent Bayley and Sasha Banks out of NXT following some nasty dropkicks. The Genius of the Sky let the former leaders of the NXT women's division know that this was her division now.
Episode Rating: A
It looks like Cole's time as NXT Champion is in serious jeopardy as we get set for a big clash next week. Bayley and Sasha Banks survived but did not get the best goodbye tonight.
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