This week’s episode of WWE NXT figures to up the ante, and hopefully we’ll get even more clarity on the raise to the NXT Women’s Championship.
We still need to wait for WWE NXT General Manager William Regal to make a decision on how he will decide the next NXT Women’s Champion, but one thing is for certain: there will be no shortage of legitimate options.
Last week’s biggest story on NXT television came at the conclusion of the show when the “Undisputed Era” stable from Ring of Honor – comprised of Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, and Adam Cole – decided to interject themselves at the end of the UK Championship Match between Pete Dunne and Wolfgang. The result was a beatdown of both superstars, with Dunne escaping after Wolfgang tried to help him. Cole, Fish, and O’Reilly have clearly made a statement, and it will be exciting to see how Regal responds.
Johnny Gargano’s story arc should continue, as the uber-over babyface won a grind of a match against Riddick Moss. Will there be another vignette featuring Gargano?
Hideo Itami lost to Kassius Ohno in a “No DQ” match a couple of weeks ago. What will happen this week between the rivals?
Tyler Bate and Trent Seven will face O’Reilly and Fish in the main event, and that should be a great match. Almost as compelling will be the promo from Aleister Black, who has been fighting but not talking much on NXT.
WWE NXT’s Johnny Gargano is OVER. Credit: WWE.com
Johnny Gargano vs. Tino Sabbatelli
Result: Gargano defeats Sabbatelli with the “Gargano Escape”
Rating: 1.5 out of 5.0 stars
Riddick Moss barely lost to Johnny Gargano last week, and the “Rebel Hart” must prove that his first singles win after his breakup with Tommaso Ciampa was no fluke by knocking off Moss’s partner Sabbatelli.
Facing Gargano is a great way to get heat, and Sabbatelli soaked up some “Sabbatelli sucks!” chants before taunting Gargano, telling him “You aren’t on our level!” and “You got lucky!”
Like with the Moss match last week, Sabbatelli picked up most of the offense early on, but the commentary sold Sabbatelli’s shoulder injury. However, they are also continuing to sell Gargano’s mentality, because as Sabbatelli would goad him, Nigel McGuinness would keep talking about Gargano’s mentality being weak.
Gargano finally picked up the win with the “Gargano Escape”. This match wasn’t as compelling as last week’s bout between Gargano and Moss, but it serves to give Gargano another easy victory to build some momentum. It will be interesting to see when he gets a feud of substance, since this feud with the tag team of Moss and Sabbatelli seems like a one-off.
Roderick Strong Asks For An Opportunity
Roderick Strong asks William Regal for a title shot, stating that he’s done everything that has been asked of him. Regal says that he agrees, giving Strong a shot at Drew McIntyre’s title in two weeks on WWE NXT.
Bianca Belair vs. Lacey Evans
Result: Belair wins via pinfall
Rating: 3.75 out of 5.0 stars
Before the match, Sonya Deville got a chance to cut a promo of her own before the match, proclaiming that the reason Asuka never faced her is because “The Empress of Tomorrow” knows how good Deville is. She then said that she’s gunning for the women’s title, punctuating her statement with this line, “You better put your hair up and square up,” to any potential challengers.
Lacey Evans was amazing at the Mae Young Classic, pulling world-class promos and showing off the best character work in the entire tournament behind only Toni Storm and Kairi Sane.
Bianca Belair was another MYC standout, as she pulled off a legitimate four-star match with Sane. Though new to the business, Belair looked like a star, pulling off a perfect 450-splash and showing off excellent acting chops. She was a legit heel, and her hair whip was one of the best touches of the tournament.
In this match, Belair received most of the offense in her first match. Evans’s comeback sequence was well-done and another sign of what we saw at the Mae Young Classic; Evans is one of the most improved wrestlers in the company right now.
By showing amazing ferocity, not listening to the ref, and getting mild heat from the crowd, Belair looks like a natural heel. And once she brought the hair whip back, it was just too awesome. It was also all over, because she hit Evans with the 1-2-3 to win with a reverse powerbomb on her debut.
These two women put a lot into this match as far as selling goes, and the “EST” won in a very underrated debut match that deserves praise. As McGuinness and Mauro Ranallo said, the future is indeed bright for her.
Aleister Black is the star of WWE NXT. Credit: WWE.com
Aleister Black Cuts His Promo
Aleister Black is definitely over, and the “mercurial”, as Ranallo put it, NXT star’s entrance is easily one of the top of in the WWE. Listening to the crowd sing along to the most metal song in the company is just awesome, and watching him walk through the darkness in the smoke with his suit on was perfect. Black is one of the biggest stars in the company, and I love how much the commentary team puts him over.
To start things off, Black says that he started a journey 15 years ago that brought him to NXT, stating that all of his experiences are put onto him in the form of scars (his tattoos).
All of a sudden, he’s interrupted by the “Velveteen Dream”, who promptly says, “Everything that fades to black must come into the light.”
The “Velveteen Dream” adds that he doesn’t see scars, he just sees “lies” scribbled on Black’s skin and states that Black’s biggest problem is “fear”. The Velveteen Dream believes Black is afraid of showing emotion and afraid of the light.
Black is awesome, The Dream is a savage, and this rivalry is about to be one of the best things about WWE. I can’t wait to see what their next segment brings.
Lars Sullivan and No Way Jose are bitter rivals on WWE NXT. Credit: WWE.com
Dakota Kai Promo
Dakota Kai states that while she may be new to NXT, she shouldn’t be taken lightly. Kai says she’s not afraid “to kick heads in” to win the championship. She was one of the star performers at the Mae Young Classic, so I can’t wait to watch her in action.
No Way Jose vs. Lars Sullivan
Result: Lars Sullivan wins via pinfall
Rating: 3.0 out of 5.0 stars
Two weeks ago, Sullivan absolutely destroyed No Way Jose, and the man is on a rampage through the NXT roster. Let’s see if Jose can stop that momentum. It didn’t look like No Way Jose was confident, seeing as how he looked frightened out of his mind when Sullivan walked into the ring.
Jose immediately took the fight to Sullivan with straight right-hands to the face. That was short-lived, and it’s hard not to love the viciousness of Sullivan’s hard knees to the chest. He then pressed Jose onto the ring apron to a chorus of boos, and Sullivan is indeed a heat magnet.
Sullivan hit Jose with a diving headbutt to show off his versatility as a competitor before winning with ease with a slam. It was fun to watch how talented Sullivan is strength-wise and even agility-wise, with McGuinness putting over his intelligence as a kayfabe competitor. I’m wondering what the long-term plans for Sullivan are, but the future is a promising one for NXT’s newest monster.
Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly make their WWE NXT in-ring debuts. Credit: WWE.com
Tyler Bate and Trent Seven vs. Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish
Result: O’Reilly and Fish win via pinfall
Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5.0
It’s the “Undisputed Era’s” Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish against the “Mustache Mountain” of the United Kingdom’s Tyler Bate and Trent Seven. Adam Cole’s in-ring debut with NXT will be spared for a bigger match, but it’s awesome to get a chance to watch O’Reilly and Fish going at it in a tag match against Tyler Bate and Trent Seven, who are also two of the best wrestlers in the world.
This match is stemming from the attack O’Reilly and Fish had on Pete Dunne and Wolfgang after their UK Championship last week. Could we be getting a long-term rivalry between this new Ring of Honor stable and the babyfaces from WWE UK? Quick note: It was awesome how O’Reilly and Fish’s music started with “Shock the System”; that’s clearly what the intent of this Adam Cole-led stable is in NXT.
Cole accompanied his buddies to the ring dressed in a suit and was ordered by the ref to stay outside the ropes. O’Reilly and Bate started things off with some beautiful mat wrestling, feeling each other out.
The teamwork from O’Reilly and Fish was fun to watch, especially their “in stereo” kick on Seven, who brought the momentum back to “Mustache Mountain’s” side with a lovely DDT.
O’Reilly and Fish showed amazing tag team psychology to isolate Seven at every turn and to wipe Bate off the apron to prevent the former UK Champion from tagging in. Cole briefly got involved to help Fish throw himself at Seven into the barricade.
Seven’s hard-hitting lariat created the suspenseful moment of “who tags?”, and both Bate and O’Reilly entered for the much-awaited Bate hot-tag as Bate spent most of his time waiting to get back in. Bate had an excellent counter to catch O’Reilly charging at him in the corner to continue to show off his amazing strength. Fish had to rescue O’Reilly after the white-hot Bate hit a shooting star press. He then nearly got O’Reilly with another beautiful move.
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Bate’s finisher, the Tyler Driver, was then countered by O’Reilly into a bodyscissors guillotine that was a work of art. Bate countered out of it, but Fish came in to help out. O’Reilly nearly hit Bate, but the young star was able to get his foot on the rope in an amazing spot.
Cole superkicked Bate on the outside, allowing Fish and O’Reilly to double-team Seven for the win, as Fish covered Seven.
NXT Champion Drew McIntyre then came in to interrupt the “Undisputed Era’s” celebration, but the trio retreated before McIntyre could get his revenge for their heinous attack on him after his championship win over Bobby Roode at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III.
But then as they retreated, Sanity popped up behind them to start beating up O’Reilly, Fish, and Cole. Remember what I said about the Velveteen Dream vs. Aleister Black? Well, this is about to be the best rivalry in NXT. Faction vs. faction vs. faction!
The show closed with McIntyre standing tall in the ring and Sanity standing tall outside of it.