WWE NXT: Results, Grades, And Analysis For October 4, 2017

Roderick Strong comes so close against Drew McIntyre on WWE NXT. Credit: WWE on Twitter

NXT Championship Match

Roderick Strong vs. Drew McIntyre (c)

Result: Drew McIntyre wins via pinfall

Rating: 4.75 out of 5.0 stars

A fired-up Roderick Strong comes out to his underrated entrance song, and both Percy Watson and Nigel McGuinness hype up the arduous road he has traveled to get chances like this one.

McIntyre’s first title defense begins with McIntyre showcasing his strength advantage, so Strong starts to try and initiate grapples by using his quickness, which the commentary team immediately hypes up. McIntyre sends Strong crashing with a shoulder block before we’re sent to the commercial break, leaving us to wonder what Strong must do as the underdog.

Strong sends McIntyre to the ground with a lovely dropkick, getting every bit of it. But McIntyre hits an even stiffer kick, just getting a one-count before asserting himself with some chops in the corner. A belly-to-belly suplex then sends a reeling Strong out of the ring with little hope against the ruthless McIntyre, who hits another chop before dropping Strong right on the barricade.

More chops outside the ring follow, but Strong gets back in the ring. He then flies off the apron to hit McIntyre with a knee, but McIntyre counters with a blow to the barricade. The back-and-forth continues with Strong hitting a nasty backbreaker right onto the steel steps.

A woozy strong finds a way to get McIntyre back into the ring for a backbreaker/basement dropkick combo for a two-count.

McIntyre goes to the top rope, but he’s countered by another excellent dropkick. Strong gets visibly frustrated after McIntyre kicks out, and he goes for another quick cover after some low-impact strikes. He then kicks McIntyre in the head and gets some stomps in when the champ is on the ropes.

A snap vertical suplex swings the momentum back in McIntyre’s favor after Strong is unable to capitalize on some hard forearms. McIntyre kicks up and hits his Claymore on the counter.

They trade counters until McIntyre hits a pop-up spinebuster, but Strong kicks out of the powerful move. McIntyre plants Strong on the top rope and hits him with a chop. After countering with a sunset-flip attempt that McIntyre countered, Strong plants McIntyre up on the top ropes with an Enziguiri. He then nails McIntyre with a potentially momentum-changing superplex for a two-count.

McIntyre kicks out of the “Tiger Bomb”, and Strong gets rewarded with a sick-looking headbutt from McIntyre that leaves both wrestlers sprawled on the ground. He hits Strong with an Avalanche Celtic Cross from the top rope, but Strong gets his foot on the ropes in an intense spot.

Stomping in the corner, McIntyre is setting up for the Claymore, but he eats three high knees from Strong for his efforts. He then shocks everyone by going for the “Sick Kick”, but McIntyre kicked out in another amazing spot.

They move over the apron, where Strong continues with his knees. He then makes the fatal mistake of jumping at McIntyre, who catches him and powerbombs him into the steel post. McIntyre gets him with a “Future Shock DDT”, but he isn’t done yet. He then goes for the Claymore to seal the deal, successfully defending the title in his first defense.

This was an incredible match and maybe my favorite of Strong’s career in NXT. Strong gave it his all against McIntyre, who knew he would have to be equally game in order to hold off the challenger. There were so many nail-biting spots that were just brutal, and McIntyre made Strong look like a million bucks in a match that everyone knew he would win. Strong deserves plenty of respect for this performance, because he had the crowd guessing just a little bit at two distinct points in the match before the tables turned when his back landed on that ring post. Just a great story with excellent execution.

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The handshake between both of them after the match was a great moment that showed the sheer amount of respect between these two competitors.

The “Undisputed Era” then comes out, but Adam Cole patting Strong on his back. He then tells Strong that he belongs and deserves to be champion, as Cole is trying to sway Strong onto his side. This only adds to the drama surrounding McIntyre’s NXT Title reign.