WWE NXT Results: Highlights, Analysis and Grades for May 10

Credit: WWE.com

No. 1 Contender’s Match for the NXT Championship
Hideo Itami vs. Roderick Strong

Result: Itami def. Strong via pinfall

Rating 3.75 out of 5 stars

Before each competitor’s entrance, they spoke highly of each other but were determined to win the match. The match started off pretty slow as a stalemate with neither man getting the upper hand.

A quick sequence led to an attempted GTS, but Strong was able to escape as it went to commercial break. After the break, Itami barely gained control over Strong by grounding him and hitting him with strong strikes in the corner.

Strong swung the momentum by dropping Itami on the ropes. That led to a long sequence of Strong applying and reapplying submission moves targeting Itami’s shoulder as Itami kept trying to escape.

Itami fought back to knock strong out of the ring, but Strong caught and threw Itami onto the apron as it went to break. Returning from break, Strong was in control with another submission move.

Once Itami broke out and got a burst of energy, the match really started to pick up. He hit strong with a tornado DDT onto the ropes and then hit Strong as he jumped off the top rope.

Strong then pulled out an angle slam for a near fall. He then hit Itami with a backbreaker off the top rope which was not enough to put him away.

Itami then rallied back with a falcon’s arrow off the top rope which led to an exciting near fall. Both men were exhausted as they traded strikes until Strong escaped from an attempted GTS.

Itami stayed on strong with kicks in the corner, but a resilient Strong kept fighting until Itami finally put him asleep for the win with a GTS. It was an exciting final exchange for a match that started off a little slow.

Both men embraced in the middle of the ring after the match as a sign of sportsmanship and respect between the two Superstars. Hideo Itami will now go on to face Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship.

One side note that took away from this match is that the crowd seemed to be distracted as they were starting chants for something happening in the crowd. Irritated fans began chanting “Watch the match!”, and eventually, fans began to pay attention and give the match the “This is awesome” chants it deserved.

Next: All 26 Champions in NXT History, Ranked

That’s all for this edition of WWE NXT. What did you think of this week’s episode?